Through the Eyes
by Lucinda
Summary: A series of encounters that form a relationship between Willow and David from Lost Boys, majority of series taking place in s3 and heading away from canon.
1. Through the Eyes of a Child

Through the Eyes of a Child  
  
Author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg  
  
Pairing: sort of Willow/David QPC 124) W/David (Lost Boys)  
  
the Quickie Challenge site:   
  
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: WLS, NHA, Twisting the Hellmouth, Quickie Challenge, Bite Me please?  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow had been amazed and delighted. Her parents had decided to go to Santa Carla for a conference, and had taken her with them. It wasn't the most impressive city, but it had some impressive views and an amusement park. Willow was most impressed by the park, if she were honest.  
  
Part of her mind worried that her parents weren't worried about her safety when they let her go to the park by herself, but most of her mind was caught up in the question of how to have the most fun possible. After all, she was twelve years old now, she knew better than to get into a car with a stranger, or to eat things offered by people. She'd seen a lot of programs about drugs, and several about strangers and kidnappings.  
  
It had been quite a day, and she'd rode all sorts of rides, and watched some shows, and wandered around the boardwalk. She'd ended up bit sunburned, but that hadn't been a big surprise. Now, it was dark out, and there was a fireworks display, with bursts of red and gold and green filling the sky.  
  
She looked over towards the gates, where her parents had said they would be to pick her up, but she didn't see her Mother or Father.  
  
Instead, there was a crowd of people, two of which caught her attention. They looked like they belonged on a rock band, their faces on posters for girls to sigh over. Granted, she wasn't nearly as boy crazy as some of the girls her age, like Harmony or Aura, but she could tell that they were really cute. Both in worn blue jeans and leather jackets, one had long dark hair that fell wildly around his face, and the other had short almost white hair. Wow.  
  
They seemed to be talking to each other, and the dark one gestured towards her, causing the blond to look over. He gave a small chuckle, the sound of it lost in the noise of the crowd and the fireworks, and sauntered over towards her. Willow felt herself go all fluttery inside, nervous and worried and certain that her parents would consider him a 'dangerous stranger'. Maybe he was.  
  
"What are you doing here, little Red?" His voice was amused and flowed through the noisy air like dark honey.  
  
"ummmm..." For a moment, she found herself unable to speak, flustered by the nearness of this amazing looking guy. "Partly I was looking at you and your friend."  
  
He gave a slight smile, amused and mysterious. "What for, little red? Afraid that we might be the big bad wolves?"  
  
For a moment, Willow thought that she probably should be afraid. "Not exactly. I was thinking about the fact that eventually, I'm going to be old enough for a boyfriend. And I was trying to think about what type I'd like to have."  
  
For a moment, his jaw dropped, and he stared at her before chuckling again, a deep rich sound that reminded her of dark chocolate. "What did you come up with?"  
  
She could feel herself blushing. "I thought maybe someone like you or your friend would be... interesting an probably exciting. My life isn't very exciting, and I don't want everything to be boring."  
  
His eyes were this intense blue, and twinkled with amusement. "You're a bit young for us, Red."  
  
She grinned at him, oddly relieved that he hadn't told her she was being crazy. "I know that. But that will change. I'm not asking you to be my boyfriend right now. I was wondering about maybe in a few years, when I'm old enough to date..."  
  
He laughed now, but somehow she didn't think he was laughing at her. "Tell you what, Red. Come back in a few years, and we'll see about it."  
  
Willow had the oddest feeling, as if something had changed. Maybe it had, she'd proven to herself that she could talk to a guy. And he hadn't told her that she was just being a silly child like her parents did. "Right... so, I'll check back in about four years then?"  
  
"I'll be waiting, Red." He smiled at her, his teeth looking almost sharp in the flickering light from the fireworks. "And the name's David."  
  
"David. I'll remember." She smiled at him, ignoring the small voice inside that whispered that this was unwise, unsafe.  
  
"But I think I have to go away now. My parents are here, and if they see me talking to you, the next thing you know, one of them will be talking about unhealthy risks and the other will be quizzing you on why you're talking to an underage girl and questioning your ethics and integrity. It would be ugly... and embarrassing. So, umm... bye David. See you in a few years."  
  
With that, Willow left the park, meeting back up with her parents, who after a token question about her day returned to a discussion of their conference, and their opinions on a presentation on hypnotic regression in therapy.  
  
Yeah, it would be good to someday have a cute, interesting boyfriend. All she had to do now was grow up enough.  
  
  
  
end Through the Eyes of A Child. 


	2. Through the Eyes of a Teenager

Through the Eyes of a Teenager  
  
Author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg, pg 13  
  
sequel to Through the Eyes of A Child  
  
pairing: Willow/David(from Lost Boys) (QPC 124)  
  
the Quickie Challenge site: http://quickie.moonlightpaths.com  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any character or storyline from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: WLS, NHA, Twisting the Hellmouth, Quickie Challenge, Bite Me please?  
  
set after Lover's Walk (season 3 BtVS) and post Lost Boys the Movie, antelope horns do not kill vampires.  
  
Willow sighed as she hung up the phone. She'd tried to call Oz again, and again, he'd picked up the phone, heard her voice, and hung up, all without giving her a single word. Xander's phone wasn't even picking up. Nobody was talking to her, and she could understand why people were upset.  
  
She'd been kissing Xander, who was Cordelia's boyfriend, right as Cordelia and Oz, who was... had been Willow's boyfriend, had walked into the factory to rescue them. Cordelia was in the hospital from having a metal bar puncture through her, narrowly missing all the vital organs. But... Xander had been kissing her, it wasn't all her fault! Why was everyone blaming her, as if nobody else had done anything wrong?  
  
Buffy was busy trying to be 'just friends' with Angel, and was clearly disapproving of the illicit smoochies, or what Willow had come to think of as The Kiss. As for her other friends... well, she really didn't have any other friends. That sounded so sad, really.  
  
What could she do? Where could she go, even if only to get a short break from this disastrous mess? The image of Spike filled her mind, and then seemed to change, not into his vampire face, but into another blue eyed blond, someone that she'd met once, long ago. David.  
  
Maybe she could go to Santa Carla for the weekend. Go to the amusement park, eat too much cotton candy and pretzels and soda... all the things that were terrible for her. She could watch crowds of strange people possibly in strange clothing wander around, and spend the day not studying or researching the latest danger... She could just go try to have fun.  
  
Maybe David would be there.  
  
Maybe David would be old and married with children of his own by now. Or maybe he'd moved away, or joined a rock band and become semi famous along with his long haired friend.  
  
She would just have to go there and find out. It was a very simple matter to pack a few things, and to borrow one of her mother's credit cards, left 'in case of emergency'. A bus trip later, she was in Santa Carla, the air feeling oddly lighter than Sunnydale. Maybe it was the lack of the Hellmouth.  
  
She made her way to a small hotel, getting a single room for the next two days. It certainly wouldn't hurt her to miss a day of school, and she had the feeling that the long weekend away from the responsibilities would do her good. She went to bed, feeling knots of tension that she hadn't even known she'd had relaxing and unwinding.  
  
Willow spent all of Saturday at the boardwalk and park. She had cotton candy and pretzels, and candied almonds served warm, wrapped in sugar and cinnamon. She could see some differences in the area, things that had changed over the past six years. Shops had changed, and there were a couple new rides, the pattern of games had shifted a bit, and of course, the prizes were this year's current popular cartoons and colorful animals.  
  
She was enjoying the closing fireworks again, glad that that had been kept when she saw him. He was lurking in the shadows near the gate, his eyes looking upwards, his jeans less worn, the knees intact. But it was unquestionably David. He didn't look any older, and his friend was gone. She felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle... David didn't look older, but he should look older. Maybe it was just the effect of distance and shadows? She made her casual way closer, still trying to determine if it was an effect of the dark, or if he looked the same. Willow knew about vampires, knew that it was entirely possible that he wouldn't look older, not now, not twelve years from now, not sixty years from now.  
  
He looked over, and she saw his gaze flicker over her, taking in the loose jeans and pale green tank top, her slightly sunburned shoulders, hovering for a few moments over her neck, easily viewed as her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. A smile curved over his lips, and his voice sounded into the quiet between fireworks "Hey there, beautiful."  
  
Willow smiled back, something inside of her unsurprised that David was a vampire. "Hello David. How's life been for you the past six years?"  
  
He straightened, his eyes focused on her, looking over her intently, as if trying to place her. "You're... the little redhead, the one who was thinking about a future boyfriend? I never expected you to come back..."  
  
With a small shrug, she spoke again. "Well, things happen, times change... I needed time away from home for a bit. I remembered you, thought maybe I could come here, see what there was... See if you were still here or not. Maybe try to relax a bit. And my name is Willow."  
  
"Sounds like a simple enough plan. Want to take a walk with me? The beach is pretty by moonlight." He smiled at her again, the smile he'd used those years ago, one with sharp looking teeth and a somehow feral air.  
  
She found herself walking with David along the beach, admiring the way the waves crashed against the rocks, hurling the salty spray into the air with enough force that a light misting settled over them, gleaming on David like dew over marble. There was still a corner of her mind trying to scream at her that she shouldn't be here with David, that it was bad to go walking with vampires. "So what happened to your friend? The one with the long dark hair? I sort of thought the two of you looked like you belonged in a rock band..."  
  
"He got killed. Guess there's a reason why some people call Santa Carla the murder capitol of the world..." His voice trailed of as if he didn't want to make her think about such things.  
  
"Murder capitol of the world? Right... I don't think so. Was he a vampire too?" She found herself thinking about things, and there was no way that Santa Carla could have the same sort of fatality statistics as Sunnydale. The police here seemed to actually pay attention to their surroundings.  
  
"What?" David stopped, looking at her with this odd expression. "Did you... why do you think I'm a vampire, Willow?"  
  
She sighed, wondering if he really thought he looked human. "David, I'm not a sheltered twelve year old any more. Home is over the Hellmouth, I've seen a lot of vampires. You have the look... sort of feral, too pale, and when you stop, you're all stopped, too still to be alive." She reached out with one finger, brushing the salt mist from his cheek. "Human skin doesn't look like marble under mist."  
  
"And yet you still came out walking with me." There was some confusion in his voice.  
  
"There's a part of me trying to say that it was one of the stupider things that I've done. And another part saying that I haven't got that much to loose. Besides, you still look good, and I don't get a lot of chances to spend time with cute guys that aren't after a good grade on their next big test." Willow didn't mention that there was a small, self destructive part of her that was almost whispering that if he did kill her, wouldn't it be justice for the pain and devastation that she'd helped cause to everyone around her?  
  
"Not surprising that you're the smart one. You seemed pretty good at figuring things out before. So, if you know that I'm a vampire, and you've met some back home, why aren't you more worried? And you're pretty enough that the guys should have noticed..." David was smiling at her again, with a sort of sparkle to his eyes, the blue almost looking flecked with gold.  
  
Willow looked at the waves, part of her looking for the whole seventh wave idea, where every seventh wave was supposed to be a bit stronger than the others. "You wouldn't be a minion... much to in control for that. And I've learned that the Master vampires are a lot like normal people in some ways, they can care, can feel just as much as anyone else. And maybe the vampires here aren't so out of control as the ones at home."  
  
David walked up behind her, one arm sliding forward to wrap around her stomach, cool against her skin. He rested his chin on her shoulder, and his breath tickled against her ear as he whispered his question. "How bad are the vampires at home? What makes them so out of control?"  
  
Willow felt herself shiver, not entirely from the cool night air or sea spray. "I blame the hellmouth. And please, please, please tell me you don't go trying to destroy the world? I could never quite see the point of that."  
  
He chuckled, the vibration passing between their bodies. "I've never done that. Never felt the need. Killed people, yes. Brought them into the family, yes. But I've never tried to end the world. I like this world, you've got good music, like Jim Morrison."  
  
"I'm pretty sure he's dead, you know. Have I done a foolish thing by walking with you tonight?" Her voice sounded almost content, and Willow realized that this felt good, leaning back against David as she watched the waves.  
  
"Yeah, he's dead. But as long as we remember him, he isn't gone. You should have seen him in concert, Willow. It was just... beyond words. As for did you do something foolish... I didn't bring you out here to kill you. You've definitely caught my interest, but I don't plan to just drag you off and kill you. For one thing, there's an easier way to bring someone in, less likely to give them mental problems." One of his hands was playing with a wisp of hair that had fallen from her ponytail, brushing over her neck just below and behind her ear.  
  
"You sound like you'd want to keep me around... nobody else seems to want that. What's this other way, anyhow? Giles never mentioned anything but the whole bloodsucking dying type of thing. It's just... sometimes I feel so very alone. Makes me think that almost anything would be better." Her voice was low as she leaned against him, feeling as if her bones were turning to jelly as he played with the little wisp of hair and his fingers brushed against her neck.  
  
"I'd keep you with me forever, Red. But there would be a few downsides... My family normally uses a different way. It takes longer, gives you time to adjust, but... people might notice. If I gave you some of my blood, you would become half. You'd be stronger, faster, sensitive to sunlight, your reflection would start to fade... and you'd start to crave blood. But the sunlight wouldn't hurt you like it does me, and you could live without the blood if you try hard enough. If you give in, if you kill someone, it makes you a full vampire." His voice was low, with a seductive purr to it.  
  
"You make it sound tempting... Which should be bothering me a lot more that it is. What happens if I... if a half doesn't give in to the blood lust?"  
  
"Nothing. They stay mostly human, age a bit, although not as fast. But it seems like the temptation gets stronger as time goes, or maybe they just get tired of fighting it. I think you'd make a lovely vampire."  
  
Willow closed her eyes, letting her mind try to picture it. Herself as a vampire, with David... never alone again, never feeling so rejected and hurt. "I should at least try to fix things back in Sunnydale. But... maybe if that doesn't... or if... Will that offer stay open?"  
  
David turned her around so that she faced him, brushing his hands over her cheeks before kissing her, his lips tasting of salt and blood. "It's going to be open for a while, Willow. Just come back, and I'll make it happen. But, you're here for the weekend? Let me show you a good time, try to sway you over..."  
  
Willow smiled at him, feeling something like hope well up inside her. "That sounds good... but no sneaking around slipping me into halfness while I didn't know... Just you and me having fun this weekend."  
  
"Deal. And maybe I can sway you to the dark side after all." David's eyes looked almost triumphant as he smiled at her.  
  
As Willow smiled at him, she wondered if he would be right. And if she did go to the dark side, to David's side, would that be such a bad thing?  
  
end Through the Eyes of a Teenager. 


	3. Through the Eyes of a Visitor

Through the Eyes of a Visitor   
  
Author: Lucinda  
rating: pg 13 - some adult situations  
Pairing: QPC 124 Willow/David (Lost Boys)  
third in Through the Eyes  
the Quickie Challenge site:   
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Lost Boys.  
distribution: WLS, NHA, Twisting the Hellmouth, Quickie Challenge, Bite Me please?  
note: season 3, post Lovers Walk, slightly AU-ish.  
  
  
David had been thinking a lot recently. Ever since Willow had come back to Santa Carla, ever since he'd discovered just how much that cute little red haired girl had grown up.  
  
She had known what he was, known him for a vampire. But it hadn't mattered to her, and they'd spent the weekend simply having fun. She'd been delightful company, and he found himself missing her.  
  
He wanted her to be here, with him. Smiling at him with her eyes full of mystery and joy. Not off in Sunnydale trying to fix damaged friendships. Not off trying to 'earn forgiveness' from some selfish teenager.  
  
But she'd gone back, insisting that she had to try to fix things. It probably was something that she had to do, to try and sooth things. If she didn't, wouldn't she spend the rest of her life wondering? Tormenting herself with 'what if's and 'if only's. So, she did need to go back.  
  
He frowned, throwing a rock into the ocean as his mind tried to run away with images of Willow with someone else. He was jealous. He didn't want her with someone else, he wanted her for himself. Maybe... maybe he could go to this Sunnydale and check up on her, make sure that everything was okay...  
  
Yes, that would be perfect. He could go to Sunnydale and check on Willow. It hadn't sounded like a safe place, why shouldn't he worry a little bit about her? It was no trouble to find a couple maps, both of the general area, and a California state map so that he could find his way there. It was far enough that he decided it would be best to take the motorcycle - flying long distances had the awkward combination of leaving him nauseous and hungry.  
  
Sunnydale was a rather uneventful drive, although he had the chance to open up the bike's engine and push for just as much speed as he could. He gave a near feral grin for the one unparalleled advantage to his vampirism - the roads were uncontested at one in the morning. There was a small part of him that wished he had somebody to share that small joy with.  
  
He parked his bike inside an abandoned warehouse. There was something different about Sunnydale, something he could feel. The feeling almost reminded him of humidity, like something smothering him in the air, dark and choking and unwholesome. It set his nerves on edge, and had him feeling irritable and uneasy. And hungry, there was something about that presence that seemed to amplify his hunger. It made sense now why Willow blamed the Hellmouth for the vampires here being less controlled.  
  
David pulled out the map and decided to do a quick fly over to orient himself, to figure out where things were. Maybe he could grab a quick bite while he was out... Shaking his head a bit, he took to the air, map in one hand, determined to figure where things were in this town.  
  
There were so many cemeteries... and a lot of churches. It didn't seem right to have so many of either one here. Maybe the mortals felt the wrongness in the air as well, and sought comfort from God. There were also a lot of empty warehouses and abandoned factories, suggesting that the town was in decline, and allowing plentiful places for a vampire to hide during the day.  
  
After a while, he landed, figuring that he had enough of an idea where things were to try walking around. He tucked his hands into the pockets of his jacket, looking around as he walked. The town wasn't very impressive. As he walked, he heard the faint sound of footsteps behind him. Somebody was following him, and trying to be subtle about it. The very idea made him growl faintly, anger making his eyes flicker yellow.  
  
He paused a moment, trying to remember if the building he'd decided to stay in was to the right or to the left. There was a quick flurry of footsteps, and a small object hit the side of his jacket. He twisted, pushing his movements as fast as he could to brush away the object, feeling his hand go numb from the electric current. Pain added to the hunger and the frustration of trying to find his way around. Snarling, he lunged forward, grabbing the man in the camouflage clothing, someone who reminded him strongly of those horrible boys that had helped slaughter his family. He sank his teeth into the man's throat, drinking deeply, the rich blood soothing everything inside.  
  
His hunger ebbed, finally fading away into a warm blissful feeling. He withdrew his fangs, realizing to his shock that the man was dead. He dropped the body to the ground, backing up slowly. He'd drained the man completely, something he hadn't had to do for years. He definitely didn't want to be staying in this place very long. No wonder Willow hadn't been too happy with the Sunnydale vampires. Shaken, he made his way quickly back to the warehouse, feeling troubled by the soldier and his blood-thirst.  
  
The next evening, David was almost afraid to see Willow, considering the way his hunger had escaped him last night. But he wanted, needed to know how she was doing, if she was alright. Carefully, he took to the air, trying to figure out where she would be. Hadn't she mentioned knowing the Slayer? She'd said that she'd been helping the Slayer, going with her on patrols. So, maybe if he checked the cemeteries and warehouses, he would find her? From the air, so that he wouldn't run into any more men in camouflage. He shuddered again, appalled by his loss of control.  
  
Looking down, he saw a flash of red and one of yellow. A pair of females, one talking about some guy named Scott and the unfairness of some situation involving someone named Angel. There was also a dark haired male, someone who was watching the blond with adoring eyes. Willow was trailing along, her shoulders slumped, posture speaking of misery. The people walking with her didn't seem to notice, didn't even seem to be paying much attention to her.  
  
There was a large, resonant bellow, and a pair of tall, gangly things covered in sickly greenish grey fur leapt out from a building, attacking the walking people. One leapt towards the blonde, and she and the boy began to fight it, showing definite skill and practice at working together. The second beast, slightly smaller and a bit less bulky attacked Willow. He dropped to a rooftop, ready to join in to defend her, but she twisted and dodged with amazing effectiveness. She gasped a handful of words that sounded like Latin, and the thing went still. She picked up a sharp bit of metal, swinging it upwards, slicing deep into the creature's torso. It toppled to the ground, and she swung again, this time severing it's head.  
  
She stood there, gasping for breath and trembling, and looked over to her companions. The blond had just stabbed the other creature with a sharp thing in her hand, a wooden stake. The blond dusted herself off, looking at the boy, one hand touching his arm, which was bleeding. The blond only glanced at Willow, not even bothering to ask if she was hurt.  
  
Willow almost seemed to withdraw into herself, and as they continued, she was lagging a bit further behind, her arms wrapped around herself forlornly. The scent of blood from the boy wafted up, tempting and rich. He growled a bit, uncertain if it was from the sudden resurgence of hunger that the scent of blood had caused or from his anger at the way her 'friends' were neglecting Willow. He followed, wanting to make certain that she stayed safe, no longer having any confidence that the Slayer would do so. Willow was not appreciated here.  
  
He felt sorrow as he watched them on their patrol. Willow was trying so hard to help them, but the blond was barely listening to her. The boy seemed determined to ignore her, bringing him to the conclusion that he must be Xander. It definitely didn't look like Willow had 'put things right' with her friends. He couldn't help but feel glad. If they didn't want her, he most certainly did.  
  
Willow continued until she reached a small park. She sank onto a bench, staring after Buffy and Xander as they left. The pair didn't even seem to notice that she wasn't still following them. For the first time, David had an understanding of the urge to make a name for yourself by killing the Slayer. He could tell that his teeth were sharp fangs and a low growl emerged as he watched the pair walk away from his Willow.  
  
"I sound like an angry cat... Better get a grip on myself before I start chasing moths and coughing up hairballs." The longer he stayed the more unhappy he was with the effects of the Hellmouth.  
  
He dropped down from the sky, landing beside Willow with almost no sound. She was sitting on the bench with her knees pulled up, arms wrapped around them, effectively curling into a small shape. He sat on the bench beside her, resting one hand on her back. "Things aren't going very well here?"  
  
She looked up at him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "They won't... I can't fix this by myself. It's not the same, nobody's willing to talk to me anymore."  
  
He pulled her close, almost onto his lap, and wrapped his arms around her, bending down to inhale the scent of her hair. "I thought the whole mess from that Spike character only involved, you, Xander, Cordelia and Fozz? Why wouldn't anyone else be talking to you?"  
  
There was a small noise, almost a laugh. "Oz, not fozz. The only other person that ever talked to me... well, there was Buffy, but she's caught up in can't be with Angel. There was Amy, but she turned herself into a rat. Jesse used to be there for me... but he's dead now. That's my life."  
  
"You forgot someone. I'm here for you. Anytime you want someone... although if it's daytime you'll have to come to me. I'm here for you, sweet Willow." He held her close, smiling as she unfolded a bit, sliding her arms under his jacket and around his chest.  
  
"That sounds nice. Having someone, I mean." She looked at him, a trembling smile on her face, although there wasn't the faintest scent of fear. "Your eyes are all golden... and you've got sharp teeth."  
  
He grinned at her, amusement bubbling inside of him. "All the better to eat you with, my dear."  
  
Willow's eyes darkened, and a single tear fell down her cheek. "Please... no big bad wolf references. They just make me think of Oz... and it's my fault, Cordy got impaled, and Oz hates me now... I broke the friendship I had with Xander."  
  
Pulling her into a hug, he held her close, his words a faint whisper in her ear. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up any pain. But it couldn't have been just you."  
  
She sighed, her breath warm against his throat. "Why all grrr? I mean, you didn't have the yellow eyes in Santa Carla, although they look good on you."  
  
For a moment, he couldn't quite form words, simply savoring the feeling of her body next to his, her warmth seeping into him, her breath caressing his throat. "The eyes... I think it's the Hellmouth. It's set me on edge. I don't want to scare you..."  
  
She was looking at him, her eyes curious, and maybe a hint of desire? Willow shifted a bit, one finger tracing over his lips, touching his teeth when his lips parted. She tasted like apples and rain, with a hint of salt. He flicked his tongue out, tasting her finger, and she gasped slightly, surprise causing her hand to twitch, the top of her knuckle catching on one sharp fang. His fang sliced through her skin effortlessly, releasing a thin line of blood, a single droplet falling on his lip.  
  
With a low groan, he licked the droplet up, savoring the taste of her, so much more potent than her scent. One hand reached up, catching her hand, holding it still as he lapped at the thin line of blood on her knuckle. "My God, Willow, you taste... wonderful."  
  
She was breathing faster, but not from fear. "oh my... David? Would it... does it have to hurt? I mean, you didn't, you aren't hurting me, but... if you bit me, really bit me instead of me sort of scratching myself on your tooth, would it hurt?"  
  
He drew a breath at the images her words provoked. Willow's body pressed against his, surrendering herself to him, allowing him to taste her, touch her, claim her as his. Willow's own lips moving over his throat while her hands... Images of Willow with fangs, her eyes wild with passion and pleasure... When he managed to speak, his voice was husky. "It wouldn't have to hurt at all. It could be... very nice. But if I bit you... I'd probably want to make you half. Did you... I wouldn't let you go if I did that to you."   
  
"You wouldn't let me go? Would that be some sort of sire-childe bond, or more like a possessive lover type thing? If I was yours, would you be mine?" She was looking into his eyes, as if seeking truth. one arm was wrapped around him, clinging to him as if for balance, and somehow, her body had shifted so she was facing him, one leg to either side. The position had her pressed up against him in near mimicry of more passionate actions.  
  
"I'd never let you go. As for what sort of bond... maybe a bit of both? Unless I'm not the sort of guy that you'd want as a boyfriend... lover... eternal companion."  
  
She looked as if she had been lost in thought. "I think... I'd like to have someone who wouldn't go away, wouldn't leave me alone. But... we're..." Willow was turning a most temptingly delicious pink. "We're in the middle of the park! Something umm... I have the feeling that this should maybe be done in private?"  
  
A smile slowly spread across his face. "Yeah, private sounds good. Did you have somewhere? I spent last night in this abandoned warehouse, it wasn't exactly the Ritz."  
  
For the first time, she grinned with delight. "We can go to my parents house... much nicer than an empty warehouse, and there won't be anyone there."  
  
"Parents?" He leaned forward, kissing lightly over her neck and shoulder.  
  
"ooohhhh..." Her voice was a near moan of pleasure. "Umm... they aren't home, some trip away... Houston, Dallas, somewhere in Texas. All week... mmm that feels so good."  
  
He sat up, still clinging to her, holding her body close to him. "So... where's this house? I'm eager to get you all to myself."  
  
He flew them to the house, following her inside, causing a raised eyebrow from Willow. She then gave a small shrug, her arms sliding around him, tugging his coat from his shoulders, letting it fall in a heap in the floor. He kissed her, exploring her mouth with his own, tongue teasing her mouth, her own ever so carefully touching his fangs. He groaned in delight and pressed closer to her, hands sliding over her back. Slowly, teasingly, he kissed and suckled along her neck, savoring each little gasp and whimper of delight. He found the perfect place, low on the side of her neck, but right over the pulse, and slid his teeth into her neck, the skin of her throat parting as easily as her knuckle had.  
  
Willow gasped, her hands fisting on the back of his shirt, trying to pull him closer. She tasted of apples and secrets and passion, like spiced cider in the winter. He forced himself to stop, not wanting to take too much, not wanting to hurt her.  
  
As she practically dragged him into her room, the door shutting behind him entirely without the help of hands, he was reasurred that he hadn't hurt her in the slightest. And from the look on her face and the way she was kissing him, kisses as if she wanted to taste him, nearly devouring him, she had enjoyed that nearly as much as he had.  
  
It wan't until later that she tasted his blood, the feeling of her lips and tongue over his throat practically turning him into a purring overgrown cat. The feeling of her tasting him was ecstacy. Needless to say, the night was not spent in slumber.  
  
David was deleriously happy that he'd decided to come to Sunnydale. Even if it was over the Hellmouth.  
  
end Eyes of a Visitor. 


	4. Through the Eyes of a Half Vampire

Through the Eyes of a Half Vampire  
  
Author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg13  
  
Pairing: Willow/David (Lost Boys) QPC # 124  
  
Fourth in the 'Eyes' series  
  
the Quickie Challenge site:   
  
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: WLS, NHA, Twisting the Hellmouth, Quickie Challenge, Bite Me please? anyone else with permission for the earlier 'Eyes' stories. Otherwise, please ask first.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow awoke slowly, her body feeling entirely relaxed. David was curled up next to her, his body snuggled right up against hers. She wouldn't have described last night as anything near relaxing, but she felt so much better this morning... And she wanted a shower.  
  
It wasn't until she was standing beneath the hot spray of water, apple scented steam filling the air that she realized she hadn't turned on any of the lights. She'd made her way here and gathered her things with only the traces of light from the rest of the house, where window's hadn't been covered. She was seeing in the dark, well, the mostly dark. Like a vampire.  
  
Apparently, David had indeed changed her some last night. In more ways than one. He'd made her feel desired, cherished, passionate... and turned her into a half vampire. Which he'd actually mentioned would probably happen. But it was another thing to know that it did, to know that her body was changing. What else would change? He'd mentioned her reflection, and sunlight, but... well, he hadn't mentioned anything specific about the blood craving. How would that feel? How would she deal with that?  
  
Oooh, speaking of blood cravings, she should have breakfast. It wasn't until she was spreading raspberry jam onto her toast that it occurred to her she'd just jumped from blood lust to breakfast, as if the two belonged together. She finished eating her toast, making her way back to her room, watching David sleep for a while.  
  
Carefully, she searched until she found a pair of sunglasses, and then left the room, certain that it might be a good idea to be a bit prepared. She could stop by Willie's and pick up some blood for David, and maybe a little for herself. After all, if she only drank from bags, she couldn't kill anyone, and wouldn't change over the rest of the way. And maybe David would be hungry when he woke up. Yes, she had a plan, and that made her feel calmer.  
  
Willow was immediately aware of just how out of place she was when she stepped into Willie's. There weren't a lot of customers, but... well, even the ones that looked human seemed a bit dangerous, a bit more scarred and battle worn than she was. The place had an air that at first looked almost dirty, but it didn't smell like dirt. It was just that everything in here was old, worn and a bit faded. She could smell sweat and alcohol and fruit and blood... She tried to keep her mind focused and to look calm as she walked to the bar. There was a man there, presumably Willie, polishing the bar with a gray rag. He looked sort of skinny, slightly hunched, as if in preparation for some blow.  
  
"Hello. I want to get some blood, in bags, for carry out." Willow thought that she'd try polite first, after all, despite Buffy's many complaints about the bartender and snitch, it could help.  
  
He looked at her, his eyes hard and almost mocking. "You don't look old enough for that stuff, red."  
  
That was when some brawny guy that might have been human or maybe a bit of something else grabbed her but, squeezing with a leering chuckle. She didn't even pause to think about it, just reacting with the skills she'd learned the summer that Buffy had run away. With a grip that left bruises, she flipped the man to the floor, the impact making him go still. In the sudden quiet, Willow realized that she could hear his pulse, a soft subtle throbbing noise, with a sort of whooshing...  
  
With a lurch, she realized that her teeth were trying to go sharp, like David's had been. Turning back to Willie, she tapped the bar impatiently, scowling at him.  
  
A cooler was dropped onto the counter with haste, and she could smell the sour sweet scent of fear rolling off Willie like cheap cologne. "Here you go..."  
  
Willow forced herself to smile, the smile of a shy student instead of a predator, and collected the cooler, counting out money as she did. "Here you go. Hopefully, if I come back for more, there will be no further interruptions?"  
  
"N-no interruptions, Red." Willie sounded nervous, something that Buffy had never mentioned in her dealings with the man.  
  
"Good." Picking up the cooler, she made her way back to her house, thinking over everything. She'd flipped someone that had to be close to three times her size, and it had seemed easy. She'd heard his heartbeat, and something inside had wondered how he'd taste. Oh yeah, things were definitely changing.  
  
  
  
David was awake when she got home, she could hear restless footsteps pacing in her house. "Hello?"  
  
"Willow. I woke up and you weren't here with me." David's voice sounded almost calm, like he was trying to hide worry. He was standing in the doorway, no shirt on, looking almost delicious.  
  
She held the cooler up like a prize, smiling at the sight of her vampire. "I got carry out for you. And I sort of thought... if I only have bagged blood, I shouldn't change, right? I definitely want to finish school, there's only a matter of months. And I wasn't sure when you'd wake up, or if you'd be hungry..."  
  
David was there, kissing her before she could finish her nervous babble. "Not a problem. I'm impressed though, I don't know of anyone else that's tried something like that to keep from changing. Of course, you could always just nibble on me..."  
  
His words inspired a rush of images, nibbling, kissing, touching... "That way is passionate naughty things. I need something in case you aren't here, or the middle of somewhere awkward... Are you planning to stay in Sunnydale?"  
  
"For a while. I need to teach you, and I wouldn't want to go away from you anyhow. I thought I'd convinced you of that last night?" His smile made Willow feel overly warm again. "But I don't want to stay in a warehouse forever, and if your parents will eventually come back... I think we'll need to find somewhere that can be ours."  
  
"ohh... move in with my vampire lover... I can just picture my parents reaction." Willow grinned, already considering the ways that her parents would ignore and deny what was happening in her life. "I'd love to move in with you... as soon as you have somewhere better than an abandoned warehouse."  
  
David chuckled. "Are they still the sort that would interrogate me about my intentions? How would they react to the vampire part?"  
  
Willow sighed, leaning against David, her arms sliding around him. "They would either develop extremely specific hearing loss, or try to convince you that it's some sort of rebellious phase your going through, and that eventually, you'll grow out of this and settle down."  
  
"Not a very happy family. Promise we can make a better one." He nibbled at the top of her ear, his breath tickling at her cheek.  
  
Willow leaned up, kissing him lightly. "A better future... you and me. I like that plan."  
  
"Will that fit in the refrigerator? I have a few plans for you, and that isn't needed for the moment." David's eyes had flecks of gold in them.  
  
Willow made a quick trip into the kitchen, rearranging a few things in order to fit the cooler inside the refrigerator. "All stowed away. So... what did you have in mind?"  
  
David just chuckled before he picked her up into his arms, carrying her back to the bedroom.  
  
end Eyes of a Half Vampire. 


	5. Through the Eyes of an Abandoned Friend

Through the Eyes of   
  
Author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg13  
  
Pairing: Willow/David (Lost Boys), mention of past tense Willow/Oz  
  
Fifth in the 'Eyes' series  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: WLS, NHA, Twisting the Hellmouth, Quickie Challenge, Bite Me please? anyone else with permission for the earlier 'Eyes' stories. Otherwise, please ask first.  
  
  
  
Willow glanced at the library, knowing that Buffy and Xander were in there. She'd heard Xander making a joke about Giles stealing the last jelly donut. She was also pretty sure that she wasn't invited, which left her feeling sad, but not nearly as devastated as it would have just a few weeks ago.  
  
David was here now. David, the handsome vampire that she'd first met years ago, the vampire that had become such an important part of her life - her lover, her friend, her mentor. He also intended to become her Sire, desiring to change her into a vampire and keep her with him forever. With David in her life, she wasn't nearly as alone.  
  
Glancing up, her eyes briefly met the eyes of Oz. Willow froze, wondering how she could have hurt him so much, if he'd ever forgive her enough to at least speak to her long enough to hear her say that she was sorry. Even if she didn't believe that the Kiss was all her fault, she felt guilty that it had hurt Oz.  
  
Willow focused on him, letting everything else fade into the background. Oz, with his loose fitting clothing and the mottled blue tee shirt, Oz with his currently brown hair. She found herself aware of the pulse at his throat, a tiny part of her counting each heart beat and wondering if the blood of a werewolf would taste the same as the blood of a normal teenager. With a start of panic, she spun away, walking swiftly down the hall and out into the sunshine. Away from Oz.  
  
She'd felt that hunger again, although she hadn't ended up with the fangs. That would have been very bad, letting her fangs drop in the crowded hallway, especially since Oz knew that there were beings with fangs. If Oz saw her with fangs, Buffy might drop in with a sharp piece of wood that night. Everything felt so confusing just then, and she was only certain that it would be a very wise idea to go straight home and have some blood. Before she felt any more terrible temptations.  
  
Her eyes were watering by the time she'd made it to her house, and she had already decided that she would have to take the sunglasses to school. The bright sunlight hurt, and it was sure to give her a headache... But it didn't burn and blister her skin like it would David, so maybe she should be grateful for that? Willow sighed, headed for the refrigerator. Deep thoughts could wait until she'd had a bit of blood, calmed herself down.  
  
Later, as she sat at the table working on her algebra, it occurred to her that most people would find the Styrofoam container of cow's blood that she had at hand, now half empty, highly disturbing. Most people would be freaking out about the blood, or the bite mark from her new boyfriend...lover... from David. But then, most people didn't live over a Hellmouth, hadn't fought to keep the world here and safe.  
  
The phone rang, and she picked it up, curious who might be calling her. After all, Xander hadn't been willing to speak to her, nor Oz, Cordelia had never really been on the sort of terms where she would have been calling Willow, and Buffy… should be on patrol by now. Could it really be nine thirty already? Considering the time, it shouldn't be a telemarketer, so she cautiously answered it. "Hello?"  
  
:Yes, Willow. Can you come to the library? We have… something of a problem, actually.: Giles sounded a bit uncertain, and his voice was quiet, as if… Could he be trying not to be overheard?  
  
For Willow, it all clicked together. "They don't want me there, do they? Buffy and Xander, I mean."  
  
:Well, they... Buffy didn't say much about it, actually.: It was as if Giles was stammering right there. That faint clink was him putting down his teacup, and that almost imperceptible one was his glasses, so that he could rub over his eyes… :We have a complicated situation brewing.:  
  
"No, I'm not going to intrude on them. You can finish your tea, and stop worrying about how to explain me showing up. Try calling Oz, he can probably look up anything that's needed, and I can look online here. I made the mistake of going on patrol when I wasn't welcome and it… well, why don't you see if either of them know where I stopped patrolling?" Willow felt a surge of anger at Xander, and a bit of sympathy for Giles. "I know that… what happened at the factory was a terrible thing, and I'm sorry that Oz and Cordelia got hurt. But… it wasn't all my fault, and I won't take all of the blame anymore. Maybe some time away would be good, you know?"  
  
:I suppose that there could be... awkwardness if you just showed up. But I still worry about you, Willow. I want you to be careful, and to be safe.: Giles sighed, sounding as if something was troubling him. :While I don't approve of you and Xander engaging in illicit… errr… smoochies? I don't approve, but understand being young and having intense feelings. I just don't want to see this ruin the friendships that your group shares.:  
  
"I... thanks for caring, Giles. It means a lot." Willow found herself smiling, and her eyes had the prickle of tears. "But right now, I don't want to press myself around Buffy and Xander, and I don't want to keep the emotional wounds open, because wounds need time to heal, and if you keep ripping them back open, either nothing heals or it gets infected, and then there's swelling and everything gets red and filled with pus… I mean, gross."  
  
:err... I don't think emotional wounds fester in quite the same fashion.: Giles had that sort of stunned tone that meant she'd babbled at him again. :I'll call Oz and see if he can be of some assistance, in the meantime, can you see if you can find anything… Buffy said that there was a group of men in camouflage clothing out tonight, and that they apparently stunned and took away a demon. She described it as 'looking like a snork that could play basketball', but I'm afraid that the description didn't help me much.:  
  
Willow snickered at the description, picturing Buffy standing there, her hand gesturing while she tried to make her hair behave… "Ask Xander to translate that for you. I'll see what I can learn about groups in camos."  
  
Hanging up the phone, Willow shook her head. Giles was so much more... well, parental than her parents were. He worried about her, and old her to be careful, and… He'd have two kinds of fits if he found out about David.  
  
"Evening, Willow. I thought I'd drop by and spend some time with you, make sure that everything's going well." David's voice slid around her as he walked into the kitchen.  
  
"David..." She had her arms wrapped around him before she'd quite realized that she'd even moved. "I missed you."  
  
Kissing her, David let her know that he was glad to see her as well. "Other than that, how did things go?"  
  
"Xander and Buffy didn't want me to go help research the new… puzzle. Oh, have you heard anything about strange guys in camouflage hunting demons?" Willow's arms were still around him, but she'd loosened her grip a little.  
  
David's grip around her tightened, until she was almost crushed against him, as if he was trying to keep her hidden away. "They're... trouble. They have these stun darts, and I don't know what they want, but it can't be good."  
  
Willow squirmed just a bit, forcing his grip to loosen enough that she could breathe. "You've run into them?"  
  
"First night that I was in Sunnydale, one of them tried to shoot me with this stun dart. It made my hand go numb to brush the dart off, and then... I... well, he didn't go back for any reports. But I hadn't done anything to give myself away as not human." David's eyes were flickering, almost but not quite golden, and he frowned.  
  
"Which means that either he didn't care that you could have been human, or he had some sort of equipment, maybe infrared binoculars or something? And a high powered tazer is pretty expensive, there must be some serious funding..." Willow's voice trailed off as she considered the call from Giles. "Buffy must have seen more of those guys tonight. Apparently, they grabbed a demon that looked like a giant Snork. But we need to figure out who they are and what they're up to. Considering that this is Sunnydale, that's probably going to be something bad."  
  
David leaned against her, one hand reaching around to snatch her half container of blood, which he drank down in a few swallows. "Not alone, Willow. I'm not letting you risk this alone."  
  
End Through the Eyes of an Abandoned Friend. 


	6. Through the Eyes of an ExBoyfriend

Through the Eyes of an Ex-Boyfriend  
  
Author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg13  
  
main character: Oz  
  
Pairing: Willow/David (Lost Boys), mention of past tense Willow/Oz  
  
Sixth in the 'Eyes' series  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: WLS, NHA, Twisting the Hellmouth, Quickie Challenge, Bite Me please? anyone else with permission for the earlier 'Eyes' stories. Otherwise, please ask first.  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *   
  
  
  
Something was different about Willow. Oz wasn't quite certain what had changed, or when, but he knew that something was different. And in Sunnydale, 'different' was often the same as 'dangerous'. Not that he intended to do anything rash, because he was after all a werewolf, which qualified as both different and dangerous, but he wanted to figure it out.  
  
Of course, that might be a bit tricky. He'd been avoiding her lately, ever since the factory, and she'd been making that pretty easy. But if she was in danger, then would anyone know? As he made his way towards Devon's place for practice, he considered the past few weeks. He'd been furious, and avoided her and Xander both. Cordelia had never been particularly close to Willow, and had only recently left the hospital. Xander had been groveling at Cordelia's feet, and avoiding Willow except for... wait, had she been patrolling? Neither Buffy nor Xander were really talking to her much, that couldn't be safe.  
  
He had been hurt, but not entirely surprised. He'd known about her crush on Xander, although he'd thought that it had faded. He'd felt hurt, and jealous, and a part of him had wanted to rip into them both - and that had frightened him. That fear had made him avoid them both, and it looked like that had been a mistake. Not so much about Xander, he seemed to be doing just fine, but Willow... While he'd been avoiding her, something had changed. He didn't know what it was, but he had a suspicion that it had taken away his chance to try to rebuild things with her.  
  
Practice was a blur, with several repetitions of their songs, and some practice on a new one. Devon was going on about this blond that he'd picked up after their last gig, and how she'd been insatiable. At least, that was the Devon version. He just let the words flow over and around him, like water over a rock.  
  
Afterwards, he found himself walking, and realized that he was in Willow's neighborhood. Maybe he could check on her. Her house looked quiet, with the lights out, but he had this prickly feeling. A slim, dark motorcycle was parked in the garage, and a strange man's scent everywhere, a man that smelled a lot like the vampires, but not quite the same. Had Willow taken up with some other vampire hunter? Was she safe?  
  
The house didn't smell like fear, or pain. There was a hint of cow's blood, for some unknown reason, but no fear. Oz knew then that Willow would never be his girlfriend again, he'd waited too long and lost his chance. He hadn't been quite certain if he wanted to try again, but it felt a bit frustrating to know that the option was gone.  
  
"Willow?" His voice wasn't very loud, but he wondered if there was anyone inside, anyone to hear him.  
  
There was movement at the door, and he could make out the blurry shape of someone behind the frosted glass, looking at him. For several long minutes, the figure did not move, as if hoping that with no encouragement, he would go away. A salesmen would have, or somebody just looking for a phone. But not Oz.  
  
He walked closer, pressing his hand against the door. Closing his eyes, he could smell Willow and the strange man inside. "I know that you're in there, Willow. I just wanted to talk."  
  
Faintly, he could hear a man's voice. "Do you think he'll go away?"  
  
"This is Oz." Willow's words were soft, heavy with tangled emotions. "He's not leaving until he's satisfied that whatever it is has been said or resolved. We might as well let him in and get this over with."  
  
Part of him wanted to be hurt and insulted by her words, by her apparent dread at seeing him. But then he remembered the last month when he wouldn't even talk to her, would barely even look at her, and he understood. What reason had he given her to think this might go well? There was a slight rattling, and the door opened.  
  
Stepping inside, Oz glanced at the place, noticing that the curtains were closed. There was the man, with bleached blond hair and a gleaming golden earring, in worn jeans and a shirt with a picture of Jim Morrison. Nodding at the picture, Oz spoke. "Good musician."  
  
"So you're Oz." The man was looking at him with cold, measuring eyes. "I've heard a lot about you."  
  
"Haven't heard much about you." Oz shrugged, cautiously sitting on the recliner, trying to figure out why the man smelled like a vampire but not quite. It was important.  
  
"Oz, this is David." Willow was glancing at the two of them, here eyes wary. "David, Oz."  
  
"You and Willow?" Oz wasn't quite certain when it had started, but Willow was obviously involved with this David character. He had so many questions – when, how, where, and most importantly, did he make Willow happy? David didn't look at all like the sort of person that he'd imagined Willow getting involved with, but it was obvious that they were. He looked at the other man's eyes, noting that they were a clear blue color, and met them. His wolf insisted that to do so was a challenge, and that was just the sort of thing he intended. If this David was treating Willow wrong… "Huh."  
  
David nodded, with a small smile, but didn't break eye contact. "Me and Willow. It seems that everyone here abandoned her, and she had nobody to turn to. I suppose that was lucky for me, but still."  
  
One eyebrow raised as Oz considered those words. Obviously, David thought that they'd failed Willow, abandoned her in a time of need. He actually considered that he'd been very reasonable in his emotional pain – he hadn't hit Willow or Xander, hadn't hurled insults and curses at either of them, and had not actively done anything to harm them. "I had a reason to be unhappy."  
  
David frowned a little, but gave a small nod, as if conceding that point. "I was worried for her safety."  
  
"I didn't mean to hurt you, Oz. I'm sorry for that." Willow's voice was soft, easily heard but not loud enough to disrupt the staring contest.  
  
"I think it could have been good with us, Willow." Oz looked at her, knowing that the testing was over. David wouldn't back away from trouble, and he did care about Willow. He also didn't appear to have a heartbeat – there had been no pulse in his neck. But if the strange vampire made Willow happy, good for him. It wasn't as if a werewolf was more normal. "But I guess that's not going to be more than a could-have-been. I hope he makes sure that you're safe, that you have support to be all that you want and dream."  
  
Willow smiled at him, a soft one full of regrets and fondness. "He makes me feel like I can try anything, and he'll be there for me."  
  
"Maybe one day we can be friends again." Oz glanced at the vampire to see how he'd react. "You can never have too many friends in Sunnydale."  
  
"Maybe. I don't know about today, but…" Willow paused, and her eyes drifted to his neck and then dropped firmly to her fingernails. "I think I could use some friends."  
  
David shifted in her seat a little, his hand reaching over to catch Willow's fingers. "It's alright, it will get easier."  
  
In that moment, Oz knew that David had somehow changed Willow. She still had a pulse, so she wasn't quite a vampire, but he knew that nervous look-away. He'd found himself using it on the days closest to the full moon, when his wolf was strongest and something inside whispered about hunting prey, and tearing warm chunks of meat. Willow had changed, but she was still Willow, still cared and had her soul. That probably explained the scent of blood. Maybe the sunglasses from today as well.  
  
Oz stood up, having seen enough to know what he needed to know. Willow was David's now. David was a vampire, but he cared about Willow. Willow was changing - still herself, just more predatory. Willow would be safe and happy with David, or as much as anyone could be in Sunnydale. And things might be awkward, but maybe he and Willow could still be friends.  
  
As long as David didn't hurt her or start trying to cause the usual vampire problems.  
  
End Through the Eyes of an Ex-Boyfriend. 


	7. Through the Eyes of a Watcher

Author: Lucinda  
  
Rating: pg13  
  
Main characters: Giles, commentary on Willow/David  
  
Seventh in 'Through the Eyes...'  
  
Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters or concepts from the series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' or the movie 'Lost Boys'. No profit is being made.  
  
Distribution: Anyone who has permission for the previous 'Through the Eyes', otherwise please ask first.  
  
Note: This has diverged after Lover's Walk, and is still in season 3.  
  
* * *  
  
Rupert Giles sighed as he closed his journal. Why had he ever thought that guiding a Slayer - a Slayer who tried to have the normal life of a teenage girl - would be easy? What lingering drugs had been in his system? So many concerns about boys and clothing and music and going to the Bronze... He'd love to say that he'd not been so focused on ephermal pleasures at her age.  
  
Of course, that would be a lie. He'd already been dabbling in magic and conjuring lesser Sumerian spirits for the power-rush at eighteen, and had been spending a lot of time in smoke-filled clubs drinking beer and listening to bands. Rather like what Buffy was doing, actually. With a sudden frown, he hoped that Buffy was behaving better than he did at eighteen.  
  
Had he just heard something? A book dropping onto the heavy table, possibly a chair being scooted across the floor?  
  
Slowly, he moved to the door of his office, his hand now clutching a crossbow. Hopefully, it would just be... what? It was after dark, all of the regular students had left. There hadn't been a research session, so it wouldn't be any of the Scoobies, though he still didn't understand the name. The odds of it being one of the other teachers was rather small...  
  
Willow was sitting at the table, her red hair spilling down her back as she looked at the pages of a massive leather bound book. Beside her, a blond man stood, momentarily giving flashbacks to Spike. But this man was different, his hair spiky rather than slicked back, and not wearing a long duster. A slender bit of gold glinted in one ear as he moved his head, murmuring something to Willow.  
  
Startled, Willow looked up, and then followed the line of one thumb to glance at the office, her eyes meeting his own. She stood up, her eyes widening as she paled.  
  
The blond man put his hand out, resting it on her back in apparent reassurance. Raising his voice slightly, he drawled "I hope that crossbow isn't for us."  
  
"Err... Sunnydale isn't very safe sometimes." Rupert wasn't quite certain what to say. Granted, the blond wasn't doing anything threatening, but something about him just screamed danger. "One can't be too careful."  
  
"I'm sure that you could, if you tried. Never trying anything new, and looking both ways three or four times before crossing the street, maybe researching too long, oh, and if you put on too many layers to keep warm, you end up with this sweaty film all over your body and... I'm babbling again." Willow shook her head, her cheeks turning pink.  
  
The blond leaned down, kissing Willow's cheek gently. "I like it when you babble."  
  
This was a definite change. It looked as if Willow and this person were... somehow involved. Hadn't she been trying to get back together with Oz after that dreadful incident at the factory? How much had he missed? "I don't believe that I know your... friend."  
  
"This is David. David, this is Giles." Willow smiled, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, a nervous gesture that revealed the faintest hint of a mark on her neck, the sort that one gets when being amorous and playful with someone. What was the term Buffy used, a hickey?  
  
"Right, so you're Giles." David nodded, his eyes resting on Giles. There was something dangerous and almost feral about those eyes. "I've heard a lot about you."  
  
Rupert sighed, leaning slightly against the doorway. He really hadn't heard anything about this David fellow. Decades of Watcher training was suggesting that David was a vampire, but so far, he'd been on good behavior. His time in Sunnydale left him certain that things were more complicated than it looked, and it already looked complicated. Blond vampires spending time with Willow, his Slayer abandoning her friend, the whole mess with Oz, Willow, Xander and Cordelia… He needed a cup of tea. Or maybe a shot of whiskey.  
  
It wouldn't do to phrase it like that, not any of it. "Unfortunately, I can't say the same. I haven't seen much of Willow lately."  
  
Willow sighed, leaning against David with a sorrowful expression. "Sorry, Giles. I've been… well, I guess sort of avoiding Xander, and Cordelia, and Oz was avoiding me, and Buffy's been… ummm, it's just been not friendly. I wasn't welcome in the researching, so I didn't come."  
  
"You've been spending time with David instead?" The question came out a bit more sharply than he'd intended.  
  
Willow looked at him, and something changed in her eyes. They were still the same sparkling greenish, but it was as if the life, the near cheerful animation just drained away, leaving them as hard as stones. "Yes. I've been with David, somewhere that I'm welcome, that I'm wanted. Somewhere that I'm not a constant reminder of flaws and imperfections and failures. With someone who cares."  
  
David rubbed her arm, and half turned, dropping a note card into the book before picking it up. "Maybe it would be best to read this elsewhere. I'm sure we can have it back in a reasonable amount of time."  
  
Willow sniffled a bit, and picked up her backpack. "Yeah, maybe it would. I guess I'll see you later, Giles, probably Monday in school."  
  
Giles watched as they left, feeling as if he'd rather bungled that conversation. Willow and David seemed fairly close, but if David wasn't a vampire, he'd, well, he wasn't quite certain. As for what she'd said about being where she was welcome… It was obvious that there was a big mess of emotions and complications there. Rupert wanted to believe that Willow was over reacting, that it was just a simple case of her being overly shy and self conscious.  
  
But Willow wasn't as shy as she'd been when he first came to Sunnydale. There had to be more too it than simple hurt feelings and a reluctance to face the others. If they were lucky, it was just a simple case of hurt feelings being blown out of proportion. But he remembered when he was young, the way that he'd reacted to things.  
  
God, he hoped that Buffy and the rest were more responsible, more mature than he'd been at that age. And maybe he'd better look into that shot of whiskey after all. Considering what he'd seen, heard, and guessed, there was a big enough mess to merit it.  
  
One thing nagged at him. If David was a vampire, what was his motivation? Why had he come to Sunnydale, and what sort of horrible fight would be the result of it? Was he playing with Willow? Was Willow being used as a pawn to get to Buffy? Or did he just want to have her for himself? If David's goal was just to have Willow, how did he want her? Crazed and broken as Angelus had done to Drusilla? Desperate and deluded like those teens at the vampire club a year ago? Bitter and isolated?  
  
He had the feeling that this would only get messier before it was resolved. And somehow, Buffy would come into the matter. He just hoped that Willow wouldn't end up dead as a result of everything.  
  
End Eyes 7: Through the Eyes of a Watcher. 


	8. Through the Eyes of a Slayer

Author: Lucinda  
  
Rating: pg13  
  
Main characters: Buffy, commentary on Willow/David  
  
Eighth in 'Through the Eyes...'  
  
Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters or concepts from the series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' or the movie 'Lost Boys'. No profit is being made.  
  
Distribution: Anyone who has permission for the previous 'Through the Eyes', otherwise please ask first.  
  
Note: This has diverged after Lover's Walk, and is still in season 3.  
  
Buffy walked into the library after her patrol, feeling quite annoyed. There had been this slimy thing that had left a horrible stench that was still clinging to her hair, she'd bumped into Angel, which should have been good, except that every time she saw him she just wanted to kiss him, and forget the consequences. They couldn't afford to do that, and it hurt. And she missed having someone to talk to about that whole mess.  
  
In the back room, she could hear someone moving around, and the faint sound of unhappy mutters. Picking the stake up, she made her way closer, calling out "That had better be Giles back there."  
  
"Yes, of course it's me. Who else would be in the back of the school library at eleven o'clock on a Friday?" He sounded a bit distracted, and faintly annoyed.  
  
"What, no Willow helping sort out the books and put them away?" Buffy asked, feeling a bit guilty as she realized how little she'd actually seen of Willow lately. She'd just been so busy with the Slaying, and Angel, and trying to sort things out with her mom, and then there'd been Spike... Actually, she'd let the excuses keep her from seeing Willow. She'd been so caught up in the drama of her own life that's he'd ignored Willow's life and crisis. Had she managed to patch things up with Oz or Xander?  
  
"No." Giles seemed to get caught up in some unhappy thought, and frowned. "No, Willow seems to be rather caught up in her new... I suppose boyfriend."  
  
"What?" Buffy blinked, surprised by the new development. When had Willow got a new boyfriend? Hadn't she been trying to patch things up with Oz? Why hadn't Willow told her about this guy, and what did he look like? "I... didn't know Willow had a new guy."  
  
"She does, and he's... somewhat older." Giles had this oddly twitchy look about him, as if there was something bothering him. "You might want to learn something about what Willow's been up to lately."  
  
For a moment, Buffy couldn't quite believe what she'd heard. Was Giles actually telling her to be pushy, nosey and poke into her friend's life? "And what's wigging you out about this?"  
  
"It's..." Giles stopped, and shook his head, almost looking smaller. "Willow hasn't been spending time with her friends, has recently been involved in a messy kidnapping - you do recall that mess with Spike and the factory? She hasn't had the support of her friends to help her through it, and now she's apparently involved with a strange older man that I don't know anything about and he wears an earring. Someone should be worried about her."  
  
"An earring huh?" Buffy tried not to smile. Then, her smile faltered as she realized that Giles hadn't just been worried about Willow, but trying to give her a bit of a guilt trip with that not spending time with her friends line. Unfortunately, it was working all too well. "Maybe I'd better try to learn a bit about this guy?"  
  
"Yes, well…" Giles shifted a bit, as if he wasn't quite certain that he should have asked her to poke into Willow's life. "How did patrol go? Was there anything unusual?"  
  
Rolling her shoulders to try to get a particularly awkward knot out, Buffy let the stake fall to a table. "Just the usual batch of vampires. No suspicious digging at any of the mausoleums, not weird demons. I didn't run into any sign of minions waiting for someone to wake up, so there apparently wasn't anyone considered vital to a plan buried recently."  
  
"So, everything has been running normally?" Giles adjusted his glasses, and reached out, his fingers resting on a brown leather bound book. "You're quite certain that you haven't noticed any increases in activity?"  
  
"umm…. Actually, I haven't seen any increases. More like the other way around. The old industrial section was really quiet, I only saw one minion and no other demons at all. Usually there's at least two or three demons, and I generally see a handful of vamps." Buffy paused, considering that. It did feel a bit off, but how was it bad to have less demons to try to Slay? "It's almost too quiet, actually. There weren't quite as many vamps out anywhere, and I only saw one demon, this big hunchbacked thing that looked like it was on it's way to Willie's."  
  
Giles frowned, his fingers dropping away from the book. "Fewer vampires, and only one demon? This sounds… Oddly troubling. Are they laying low in hopes of avoiding the notice of something more dangerous? Is something eliminating it's rivals? Or does this connect to those figures in camouflage that you mentioned?"  
  
"Thanks." Buffy grumbled, feeling suddenly less cheerful. "Only a Watcher could make fewer vamps sound like a bad thing. So, I'll swing by Willie's and check a few things, see what's on the rumor mill, and then stop by Willow's."  
  
As she was just about to walk out the door, Buffy paused, turning to look at Giles. "What would be the bad part if there is some group of high tech demon hunters anyhow? I mean, help is good, isn't it?"  
  
"It all depends on what they're doing with the captured demons. After all, stun guns usually don't kill demons, which means that they're taking them alive. I can't quite help wondering what they intend to do with them." Giles rubbed at his temple, suddenly looking tired.  
  
"Giles…" Buffy rolled her eyes, wondering how many things could possibly be done with a captured demon anyhow. "Where would they put them all? And why?"  
  
"I'm glad you see the dilemma." Giles sounded very neutral, and Buffy wasn't certain if he was being sarcastic or not. "If we knew that, it would be a step in the right direction. I find it distressing to not know what's going on."  
  
"Yeah, yeah… Mysterious events and untrustworthy characters." Buffy stopped, her mind flickering from Slaying to her English class, which was reading over Hamlet right now. "Do you think that Shakespere could have been a Watcher? I mean, the mystery, the loads of death and betrayal, the general weirdness…"  
  
"err. I'm not certain, but I suppose that there is the possibility." Giles looked as if the question was a surprise. "Why don't you go check with Willie, and then talk to Willow?"  
  
Buffy sighed, and left the library. A trip to Willie's, and then time with her friend. She was hoping that Willow wasn't still moping over everything… And no wonder she hadn't seen much of Willow if she kept thinking like that. Willow would notice, and had probably been avoiding her just so that Buffy wouldn't be 'forced to spend time with a downer'. Willow had probably felt all alone and miserable. With another stab of guilt, Buffy remembered the times that Willow had tried to talk to her, only to be ignored in favor of moping over Angel. Feeling like a terrible friend, Buffy slouched over to Willie's. After this, she'd have to spend time with Willow. Maybe a girl's night or something…  
  
But Willie's didn't make things feel better. The place only had half as many people as it usually did on a Friday night, and most of them either were or could pass for human. There was also a weirdly nervous air, like the people gathered here were afraid. Willie's was supposed to be pretty neutral, not a place for hunting or brawling, so the fear didn't make sense at all.  
  
Walking towards the bar, she spotted Willie, the only person who wasn't unusually nervous. Then again, Willie always seemed just barely on the quiet side of a nervous breakdown. "Hey there."  
  
"Ahhh…" Willie cleared his throat, eyes flickering nervously behind her and back to almost her face. "Slayer. What can I get for you?"  
  
"How about a diet cola and some information?" Buffy smiled, sliding onto a mostly clean looking barstool. Willie was occasionally a good place for information, and she could tell that he knew something wasn't quite normal. Even if all he knew was the idea of 'where are my customers?'  
  
Something like surprise flickered in his eyes, and Willie nodded. "A diet cola… coming right up."  
  
Watching the way he seemed to scurry, Buffy had the sinking feeling that Giles was right. Something was definitely causing trouble. Lucky her.  
  
Buffy decided to try to be gentle in her questions, at least, gentle as compared to normal. She was pretty sure that whatever was going on, Willie wasn't behind it. He probably wouldn't do anything to drive away his business, after all. And she had the feeling that if she pushed too hard, he'd bolt.  
  
It took two diet colas and an order of slightly scorched nachos before she figured that she'd learned everything that she could from here. Other people had caught glimpses of the Camo-men, strange human figured in military clothing, with electrical weapons. They'd been capturing demons and vampires, taking them away to… somewhere. None of the captured demons or vamps had been seen again. Groups as large as seven had been sighted, and there had been multiple groups around on the same nights. According to a female with impossible curves and a little bitty leather dress that had to be some sort of succubus, it wasn't a program set up by the official military base just north of town either. Everyone that knew was nervous, and there were a good number of the 'night life' who'd suddenly decided that travel would be good for their health.  
  
The only thing that seemed to be reassuring was that over the past couple weeks, two of the Camo-Men had been found, apparently drained by a vampire. Their new enemies were mortal, they could be killed. Just not very easily, considering the fact that they seemed well equipped and organized. More troubling, the Camo-Men didn't seem to care if a demon was peaceful or not – if they found one, they took them away.  
  
She felt decidedly less happy as she headed towards Willow's house. What if these Camo-Men were dangerous to people- human people, that is? What if they thought witches fell in with demons and vampires? Or what about Oz when he changed? She'd definitely have to talk to Giles about this.  
  
As she made her way towards the Rosenberg house, she heard laughter. A man and a woman, sounding happy. A few moments later, the happy couple came into view, walking arm in arm along the sidewalk. The man had pale short hair, and a leather jacket, and the woman had a fall of deep red hair. It took a few more moments before Buffy realized that it was Willow.  
  
"Willow? Is that… um, hi." Buffy smiled, trying not to look as awkward as she felt.  
  
The laughter stopped, and the couple on the sidewalk turned to look at her. The man was staring at her with cool blue eyes, the emotions just vanished. No longer did he look like the delighted boyfriend, now she found herself staring at someone dangerous, maybe even predatory. Willow wasn't smiling anymore either, her eyes filled with worry and questions.  
  
"Buffy. Hi, um… what could possibly bring you over here?" Willow's words sounded weak, as if she had no belief that this could be just a friendly visit.  
  
"Chocolate ice cream?" Buffy offered the excuse, knowing that Willow wouldn't believe it even as she spoke.  
  
"And I would need that now why? It's not like I'm still broken hearted, alone, and convinced that I'd ruined everybody's life. It's not like you've been here trying to help me get better, it's not like… well, no, there aren't any major papers due this week, so it's not Willow-the-study-buddy that you're here to see." Willow's voice was cool, as if she was trying to hold on to her emotions by pure willpower.  
  
The man murmured something into her ear, the words too soft for Buffy to catch. One hand slid around, wrapping to slide under her shirt and rub over Willow's stomach. He certainly didn't look like the sort of guy that she would have ever pictured Willow getting involved with.  
  
"Well, if this isn't awkward." Buffy tried to smile, but she still had the oddest feeling, as if something wasn't right here. It didn't quite feel like she was waling into a trap, but… something was definitely giving her the wiggins. "So, when did you meet this guy?"  
  
Willow leaned back, still watching Buffy with troubled eyes. "David, this is Buffy, Buffy, this is David. We've been dating for a couple weeks now."  
  
Buffy watched David, certain that there was something about this whole thing that was wrong, off-balance. Could David be a new baddie that she'd have to Slay? "So, have you been in Sunnydale for very long?"  
  
"Long enough." He gave a casual shrug, pausing to kiss Willow on the cheek. "Long enough to know that it isn't safe. To know that it's the sort of town where it's a very good thing to know who you can count on, and who you can't."  
  
For a moment, Buffy wondered if that was some sort of dig at her expense. "It's always good to know who you can count on."  
  
"Sometimes, you have to know who's there when the darkness is trying to devour you." Willow's voice was soft, and there was bitterness in her words. "David was there for me."  
  
"But Willow! You can't just…" Buffy faltered, trying to find the right words. Trying to find a way to bridge the suddenly visible gap between her and her friend. "I'm here for you."  
  
"Buffy, the last time that I joined you for one of your evenings out. Where did you loose track of me? How long did it take before you realized that I wasn't with you?" Her words were soft, and her eyes shimmered pale with light reflection from tears.  
  
Buffy gasped, stepping back from Willow. The words hit with more force than most vampire fists. Willow hadn't been patrolling lately, had only tried the once after the factory… And with a sinking feeling, she realized that Willow had just dropped out of the patrol, and she'd barely even thought about it. After all, she'd seen Willow at school after that, so it couldn't have been anything too horrible. "Willow, I… I'm… I'm sorry. Can we talk?"  
  
David snorted, pulling Willow around into his arms, rubbing her shoulders as Willow buried her face in his chest. "She deserved better than that, blondie. She deserved better than being left alone at night here, especially by her supposed friends."  
  
"But I had…" Buffy tried to protest, feeling both defensive and guilty as he glared at her. "Can we talk now? I'd like to listen to a few things."  
  
"We can talk Monday, at lunch." Willow's words were soft, slightly muffled. When she looked back over, there were tears running down her cheek. "I don't think that now would be a good time."  
  
"You don't have to talk to her at all." Buffy wouldn't have heard the soft words at all if she hadn't been the Slayer.  
  
"No, It's going to… well, I do go to the same school, it's not like I can just avoid her entirely. Not that avoiding me seems to have been that hard." Willow's voice held pain, and something almost like resignation. "So, Monday, Buffy and I can talk. And then Giles and I can talk. And probably Xander will keep avoiding me. Life goes on."  
  
Buffy blinked, wondering if things could really be that bleak. After a couple moments of awkward silence, she concluded that yes, it could be that bleak for Willow. The question became – how to win back her friend?  
  
"Good night, Buffy. We can talk on Monday." Willow gave a little finger wave as she and David continued to the Rosenberg house.  
  
Buffy watched them walk away, feeling as if something was very wrong with the whole situation. And David had something weird about him, weird and dangerous. She just hoped that he didn't turn out to be some sort of horrible danger.  
  
Frowning, she watched them go into the house. Had she really seen – or rather, not seen that? It had looked as if David didn't reflect in the front window as they walked along the porch. Surely she was just imagining things, or the dark was playing tricks on her. It had to just be the dark jacket and the backs of the dark curtains, right? But then, what about that pale hair, and about the paleness of his face, his hands?  
  
Willow would know if she was dating a vampire, wouldn't she?  
  
Her heart heavy, Buffy started towards her own house. Things were getting confusing, and she had a bad feeling that it would get words. Willow had a new boyfriend, and there was this new big gap between them. And maybe – just maybe – Willow's boyfriend was a vampire. Just like… no, David couldn't be like Angel. David had to be trouble. Even if he wasn't a vampire.  
  
End Through the Eyes of A Slayer. 


	9. Through the Eyes of a Student

Author: Lucinda  
  
Rating: pg/pg13  
  
Main characters: Willow, Buffy, commentary on Willow/David  
  
Ninth in 'Through the Eyes...'  
  
Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters or concepts from the series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' or the movie 'Lost Boys'. No profit is being made.  
  
Distribution: Anyone who has permission for the previous 'Through the Eyes', otherwise please ask first.  
  
Note: This has diverged after Lover's Walk, and is still in season 3.  
  
Monday rolled around, leaving Willow with the unhappy fact of school. She lurched out of the bed, remembering wistfully the times when she could just bounce out of bed in the morning, and be ready to go and perky. Before she'd become involved with David. Of course, she'd normally got more sleep the night before, or at least, less activity...  
  
But she had wanted to finish school, had wanted to make it through those few remaining months to collect her diploma. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, and still felt like a good idea, just not when she was just getting up. The morning classes slipped by, barely catching her attention. Fortunately, the morning classes weren't difficult for her.  
  
Lunch would be the big change. She shuffled out of the building, having decided to pass on the 'Cook's Choice'. Leaning against the wall in a patch of shadow, she slipped her sunglasses on. What was going on outside anyhow? Larry was talking with the other football players. Percy was shooting hoops with a couple other guys on the basketball team. Harmony and Cordelia appeared to be having a not-quite argument, encircled by more of the popular flock.  
  
Oz was talking to Faith under the big tree, and one of her hands was touching his chest. Not obscene groping, which was harder to do to a guy, but... Yeah, definite flirty touching. In a way, it hurt to see him with someone else. But they weren't together, and she had David. Why couldn't Oz move on? Why couldn't Oz and Faith try to have something? Probing at her feelings, she came to the conclusion that it would be okay, but it would take a while to get used to the idea.  
  
"Oh, hey... What's Faith doing here?" Buffy's voice sounded cheerful as she made her way over, one hand holding a bottle of juice. Willow could feel her presence, a warm spot, almost like a patch of sunshine. It made her skin twitch a little, and there were little goose-bumps rising on her arm.  
  
"It looks like she's flirting with Oz. And he seems to like it." Willow sighed, trying to sound accepting.  
  
"Oz and Faith? But that's... What about you?" Buffy blinked, her eyes on Willow.  
  
"As in, what about me and Oz? There isn't a me and Oz anymore. He's allowed to move on." Willow smiled faintly, wondering why Buffy was acting concerned now, why she hadn't been concerned last month when she could have used a friend.  
  
"But... I mean, David doesn't seem like your type at all, how long could it last?" Buffy leaned against the wall as well, sipping at her juice. "You need someone who's more... well, less of a bad-boy."  
  
"Buffy..." Willow sighed, turning to look at the slayer. "I don't need someone to wrap me up in cotton and keep me safe. David isn't a rebound guy, and he's... He makes me feel special. Cherished."  
  
"Cherished is good. It's just... well, something about him just seems... off." Buffy seemed to be struggling for words that would explain and not mention slaying at school.  
  
"I don't have to be afraid of David, and he's not hiding any horrible, deep, dark secrets from me." Willow smiled, considering that since she already knew that he was a vampire, how could he be hiding it?  
  
"You know that you can still talk to me, right?" Buffy sounded almost worried.  
  
"I can? When? When you're too busy moping about Angel to listen? When you and Xander are trying to ignore me, and not wanting me to help at the library? Or when you just walk off and ignore me in the park?" Willow shook her head, fingers twisting around a lock of hair. "We don't talk very well anymore. You didn't want to hear mopey Willow, and now… Things change, life goes on. The moment is gone, and things will never be the same."  
  
"Why can't they?" Buffy asked, her eyes trying to meet Willow's.  
  
"Because I won't let everything go back the way it used to be. Things… well, things broke, and if you break a plate and try to glue everything back, you might get a plate again, but it won't be the same." Willow tried to explain, wanting Buffy to understand. Things might not be the same, but she didn't want Buffy to be her enemy. "Oz and I aren't together, and it looks like he might be hooking up with Faith. I have David now. Xander has barely even said hi in the hallways, and… well… Things aren't the same. Even if I would try to make it the way it used to be, things have changed for everyone else as well."  
  
"But why can't things just… I liked last fall." Buffy had this little pout.  
  
"When you and Angel were together, and everything was good? Last fall was… I guess it was good. But things change. I wish that things could work out for you and Angel, but… I can't change that. And I won't try to rebuild the world to last year so that you can try." Willow stepped away from the wall. "You have to accept that things change. Some times change can be good, you know."  
  
Buffy offered a weak smile. "Sometimes, change bites."  
  
"Yeah, sometimes change bites." Willow agreed, thinking about the look of betrayal on Oz's face, about Jesse dying, about Xander avoiding her. "But trials and suffering help you grow stronger. Neither one of us has broken, Buffy. Look for the advantages."  
  
"Sometimes, I think I'd like to grow up a bit more slowly." Buffy sighed, then finished her juice. "So, where are you off to?"  
  
"The library. I promised Giles that I'd help him with some of his books." Willow replied, a little part of her twinging at the lie. She had… well, promising to return a book wasn't quite the same. And what Giles would probably want was to make sure that she was okay, and to worry a bit. It was nice to know that someone cared.  
  
"Books." Buffy shook her head, and started walking away from the wall. "Don't overdo the fun there, Will. Maybe we can talk more after school?"  
  
Willow shrugged, not certain if this was an offer of rebuilding friendship or of habit. "We'll see."  
  
Willow could still feel Buffy and Faith as she walked into the building. Apparently, Buffy hadn't sensed anything different, but would Faith if she was closer? It was something to consider, but she could do that later. After she talked with Giles.  
  
Willow sighed as she slipped into the library. It was cooler than outside, and there was the comforting scent of the books. Most of it was slightly dim, now perfectly clear and easy on her eyes, though there was the large patch of sunshine falling through the skylight over the main table. She could see Giles at that table, talking to Owen as he handed over a few books. Were they volumes of poetry? Something for a history project?  
  
Willow walked closer, standing in the sunshine for a few moments to give Giles a silent reassurance of her good health and continued pulse. She waited as Owen left, before giving a half smile. "Hey Giles. I hope that you don't mind me coming in early, but… outside got pretty boring."  
  
"No, that's quite alright." Giles offered his own smile back. "Is everything… I mean… You and David. Does he make you happy?"  
  
This time, her smile was a lot bigger. "He does. He makes me very happy. He's not going to hurt me, he's not here to make trouble, he's just…. He came to see me after… well, after the whole mess at the factory. And he was there for me, helping me get through it."  
  
"But what about…" Giles paused, shifted his glasses, glanced at the table, and then looked at her again. "What about the age difference?"  
  
"It won't be a problem, Giles." Willow hoped that she could reassure him. "He doesn't… his family isn't like the locals. He won't hurt me, and he didn't come here to hurt Buffy. Well, maybe for being a bad friend, but nothing more than that."  
  
"Are you certain of this?" Giles sat down, suddenly looking tired. "I worry about you, about all of you. Sunnydale isn't safe, and what you do… it makes you less safe."  
  
"I'm sure. He said that if you're really worried, look up his relative in your books. Maximillian Daniels, of Santa Carla. And that Max is dead now, so that could use a bit of updating." Willow stood up again, glancing towards the return cart. "Now that that's out of the way, why don't I help you put those away?"  
  
"Yes, that would be useful." Giles sighed, and stepped away from the table. "I shall hope that your right about him Willow."  
  
"I know that I am." Willow picked up the first book, trying to remember where books on chemistry went. She was normally looking for demons, not science. But it looked like things with Giles would be okay, and that was good.  
  
End Eyes 9. 


	10. Through the Eyes of a Girlfriend

Author: Lucinda

Rating: pg/pg13

Main characters: Willow, Faith - mention of Willow/Oz, Faith/Oz and Willow/David

Tenth in 'Through the Eyes...'

Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters or concepts from the series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' or the movie 'Lost Boys'. No profit is being made.

Distribution: Anyone who has permission for the previous 'Through the Eyes', otherwise please ask first.

Note: This has diverged after Lover's Walk, and is still in season 3.

Willow leaned back in the chair, flipping across the channels. News, C-Span, football, soap opera, different soap opera, car commercial, Pepsi commercial, more news, some sort of commercial involving a woman barely wearing a pair of jeans... There was nothing on the television tonight.

She wouldn't be bored if David was with her. Of course, they probably wouldn't be here flipping channels either. But he'd gone out to try to get a bit more information on the weird camouflage guys. Her homework was done, she'd read through the book on differing vampiric bloodlines until she didn't think she'd be able to keep any more straight in her head, and she'd painted all of her nails a shimmering orange color. Willow was completely out of things to do.

"Something... anything?" Willow glanced towards the ceiling, wondering if asking for distraction from her boredom would be considered blasphemy by her parents' rabbi. "I'd even settle for my parents calling in from wherever they are this week."

As if in answer to her prayer, there was a tapping at the front door.

Willow got out of the chair, wondering who it could be. David had a key, he wouldn't knock unless his hands were full, and besides, she would be able to feel him if he was that close. Xander was probably watching his wrestling show, even though it was obviously choreographed. As she moved closer, Willow realized that there was a single human heartbeat outside, and the itchy feeling of a Slayer.

Placing her hand on the doorknob, Willow frowned. Why would Buffy be here? Had she found something weird on patrol? No, the tapping would have been an urgent pounding. "Buffy?"

"Wrong Slayer." Came an amused voice from the other side.

"Faith?" Willow blinked, feeling even more puzzled. She and Faith had never been friends, never really been close enough to be anything more than acquaintances. Why would Faith be on her doorstep at night? "Is something wrong?"

"Can we talk?" Faith asked.

Willow opened the door, carefully not reaching out or giving a verbal invitation. "What did you want to talk about?"

Faith smiled, not quite her normal confident smirk, and sauntered in, hands tucked into the pockets of her leather jacket. Awkwardly, Faith pulled off the jacket, which had a stake tucked in an inside pocket, and put it over a hook near the door. "So... can we sit?"

Willow could feel Faith, like a patch of itchy sunshine right there, close enough to reach out and touch. She didn't know why the dark haired slayer was here, and wasn't sure that she'd like it, but... If she didn't try to find out, she'd never know. And if Faith was meaning trouble, wouldn't she have just attacked? "There's a couch and some chairs."

They made their way into the living room, where the television was currently playing a commercial for the new Volkswagon. Willow sighed and just turned off the television. "There is nothing entertaining on tonight."

Faith chocked back a laugh, and shook her head as she settled on the couch. "So… umm… Buffy seems to think that you and Oz will be trying to get back together."

"What?" Willow blinked, and her careful settling on the chair became a graceless collapse. "Me and Oz? But… but… there isn't a me and Oz anymore! I've got someone else, there's a me and David now."

"David?" Faith chuckled. "Not that big dolt on the football team?"

"Same name, different guy." Willow smiled. "I'm not… I'd like it if I could be friends with Oz again, but… I have David now. I'm not going to be dating Oz, or trying to date him."

"Well, that's a bit of a relief." Faith smiled a little, her hands grabbing a decorative throw pillow. "Have you mentioned this to B?"

"I mentioned it, but she apparently thinks that she knows what I'm thinking better than I do." Willow sighed, wondering if this was a new thing, or if it was just part of Buffy wishing things could be the way they used to be. "I saw you and Oz talking today, at lunch."

"You did?" Faith looked over, startled. "We… I…"

"Oz is a great guy." Willow sighed, and leaned on one hand. "He's smart, and sweet, and he can make you feel special. And it looks like you've noticed that."

"How do you feel about that?" Faith's question was barely whispered. Before David had followed her to Sunnydale, Willow would have missed it entirely.

"It'll take a bit of time to get used to it, honestly. I'm not with him, and there's no reason that he can't be with someone else, but… It was a surprise, and it'll take a while before the idea doesn't feel weirdly new. Does that make sense?" Willow tried to explain.

"Yeah, it does." Faith seemed to relax, and then frowned, sitting up sharply. "Red, why… something's different about you."

"You noticed." Willow tried to think of the best, safest way to explain things, quickly concluding that there didn't seem to be a particularly good sounding answer. "Buffy didn't notice anything earlier."

"Okay, I noticed something, but… what is it?" Faith was blinking, and looked as if she felt almost queasy, or at least off balance.

For a moment, the silence and tension filled the room. Willow licked her lips, feeling nervous, and whispered "I'm a half vampire now. It's not the whole thing, and it doesn't seem too hard to cope with, but… apparently you can pick up on it."

Faith blinked, and glanced at the book on vampiric bloodlines that sat on the table. "Light reading, or a search for personal answers?"

"Answers." Willow glanced at Faith, trying to figure out how the Slayer was taking this. "Sometimes, a book will have answers to questions that you don't even know you need to know."

"You were in the sunshine earlier. Are you still all… soulful, like B's dearest Angel?" Faith sounded as if she was trying to put bits of information together in her head.

"I can go in the sunshine, it just feels brighter, hence the sunglasses. I'm supposed to be a bit stronger, but I haven't really tried to test that one." Willow decided not to tell the Slayer everything, like about flipping that jerk at Willie's, or that she was drinking blood now. "The weirdest part is the funky ghosty reflection. Sort of cool and sort of scary."

"There was stuff about half vamps in one of the books my first Watcher had." Faith's voice was soft, and she'd curled her feet under, her posture now one that would be almost impossible to attack quickly from. It actually looked like the sort of way people were sitting in the slumber parties on television and in movies. "Something about most of the perks, not so many weaknesses… and almost impossible to reverse. And it wasn't the sort of thing that you just… bang, wake up with fangs."

"Well, no. David gave them to me." Willow confessed. "I'm still me, just…. A bit tougher now."

"David's a vampire?" Faith blinked, looking more sharply at Willow. "Your guy is a vampire?"

"And yours is a werewolf." Willow shrugged, trying not to look guilty. "And Buffy wants a vampire. At least mine isn't going to misplace his soul and go bonkers."

"Point." Faith shrugged, settling back with the pillow clutched to her. "Will he be a danger?"

"David didn't come here to bag a Slayer, or open the Hellmouth. He doesn't want to trigger an apocalypse, and has been eating in moderation." Willow sighed, rubbing at her temple. "I went through this with Giles, twice now."

"So why did he come to Sunnydale?" Faith asked.

"Because he was worried about me." Willow found herself grinning sappily. "Isn't that sweet?"

Faith gave an exaggerated groan and tossed the pillow towards the red head. "Past sweet and into sap, Red."

Willow just laughed, and stuck her tongue out at Faith. "That's why. Why I want to spend my future with David. And part of why things with Oz… they won't be like that again."

Faith grinned, looking for another little pillow. "So, you keeping fang-boy in line? Are you Santa's helper and making sure that he's not a naughty boy?"

"Define naughty," Willow murmured.

"Red!" Faith gasped, sounding surprised. "Way to go… I wouldn't have guessed that you'd have it in you."

Naturally, this was the moment when it was proven that half vampires could still turn an unflattering tomato red. Willow squeaked and cringed behind the little pillow, knowing that she was blushing. "Yeah, yeah… Nobody figures I'd know anything about sex. But honestly, girls talk in the locker rooms, and at the lunchroom, and I know Buffy… And I do have a computer."

Faith shook her head, smiling. "I guess I had underestimated you. So… does this… are we…?"

"Friends?" Willow offered, trying to read what Faith might be trying to say. "I'd say that we aren't yet, but maybe we could be. It's a nice start."

"I could use a few of those." Faith commented. "Good luck with you and David."

"Thanks. And for you and Oz… just remember, biting can pass on lycanthropy, so you probably shouldn't let him. Unless Giles and his books give the safe light, but… umm… how would you go about asking that one?"

"This is me. I'd just catch him alone and ask." Faith replied, her lips curving into a smile. "Think he'd snap the glasses?"

Willow pondered the image, giggling at the idea. "That's sort of mean…. And funny."

Faith stood up, her hands smoothing over her clothing. "Well… I'm supposed to be out on patrol, so I should probably be going. Maybe we can hang sometime, or you could patrol with on another night?"

Willow took the offer for what it was, and smiled. "That might be nice."

Things certainly were changing. Nothing would be the same as last fall at this rate… She could only hope that most of the changes wouldn't be bad.

End Eyes 10: Through the Eyes of a Girlfriend.


	11. Through the Eyes of A Brooding Vampire

Author: Lucinda

content will be no worse than BtVS s3.

Main characters: Willow, Angel, David, mention of Buffy/Angel, Willow/Oz, Faith/Oz and Willow/David

Eleventh in 'Through the Eyes...'

Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters or concepts from the series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' or the movie 'Lost Boys'. No profit is being made.

Distribution: Anyone who has permission for the previous 'Through the Eyes', otherwise please ask first.

Note: This has diverged after Lover's Walk, and is still in season 3.

Angel rubbed at his temples, considering Buffy's words. She'd arrived in his apartment that afternoon, going on about how Willow was devastated after her breakup with Oz, about how Willow was acting strange, about how he needed to go do something to help straighten Willow out 'before it was too late', whatever that was supposed to mean. The whole thing just didn't quite make sense to him. If he was following the fragments of information, Willow and Oz had broken up after Spike had kidnapped Willow and Xander on his last visit to Sunnydale. That had been over a month ago, why would Buffy only now be getting upset over Willow being devastated? If Willow was really that torn up emotionally, shouldn't Buffy have noticed sooner, said something on one of the several occasions when they'd had their awkward patrol date, trying to remember that they couldn't be together?

He had no idea what sort of 'strange behavior' Willow would be showing, or how Buffy would be certain that it was strange in an abnormal way. It wasn't as if any of Buffy's close friends were precisely normal, after all. Part of him wanted to just dismiss the whole mess as not his concern, but he knew that he couldn't get away with that. It wasn't that he and Willow were that close, but between the fact that he'd feel even guiltier if something bad happened that he could have prevented, Buffy would keep pestering at him to fix whatever it was that was affecting Willow. He might as well go see what was going on for himself. It might actually fill in a few things, considering that Buffy's words were rather scattered.

This sort of thing had never been a problem before. In his mortal days, none of the women he'd tumbled had expected commitment, and as Angelus, he'd rarely left them alive. Darla and Drusilla had known where they stood, and neither of them would have ever considered worrying about the welfare of a mortal girl. Now, he had an ex. Except that Buffy wasn't very good at letting things go, even with the whole Angelus disaster of last year as an object lesson in why they'd never work out.

At least Willow wouldn't flutter her eyelashes at him and expect him to take care of her problems. To be fair, Buffy didn't normally do that, but that was definitely what this afternoon had felt like. Maybe he should be glad of the distraction from the mysterious camouflage men hunting demons. Nah...

Some more thought and he decided that he might as well just be direct about things, hopefully without being tactlessly blunt. If he said that Buffy was worried, and had said something confusing about Oz, with the way that Willow babbled, he should get a better idea, or at least more pieces to try to fit together. He'd go as soon as the sun set, get this over with and then he could... go back to brooding in his apartment.

The few hours before sunset dragged on, leaving him with plenty of time to brood, create half-plans that had no conclusion because he didn't know enough, and offer a few choice curses towards meddling Slayers. Eventually, the sun was safely gone, and he could leave the apartment. Angel would be able to figure out just what was really going on.

His first stop was at the Bronze, which was comfortingly dark. He could feel a Slayer, and sighed, his mind already hearing Buffy start demanding answers about Willow's problems and if he'd been able to convince her that Oz would get over things and that the witch and the werewolf would be happy again. He kept moving, heading for a darker corner where it would be harder for Buffy to see him.

The Slayer he felt wasn't Buffy.

Faith was on the dance floor, her body twisting against Oz in time with the beat to some band attempting to play on the stage. Maybe the band was good, he wasn't certain what to look for in that sort of music. All he was certain of was that it was loud and nothing like the music of his youth. And both Faith and Oz looked quite content with things as they were, and neither one appeared to be worrying about Willow.

Either Buffy had left out a few things, or Buffy had a few of her 'facts' wrong. It looked like Oz and Faith were on their way towards something, and Oz definitely wasn't pining for Willow. Now, if Buffy had been that mistaken about how Oz was dealing with things, could she be equally wrong about Willow? He didn't want to think she'd be that easily mistaken, but... Buffy had a tendency to try to believe things were the way she wanted, in blind defiance of reason and sometimes even evidence.

He'd best try to find Willow and figure out just what was really going on. All this was getting him was more questions and a headache from all the noise. And the nagging urge to just take a bite out of one of the gyrating bodies... Which was something that he wasn't supposed to be doing anymore. Besides, he'd already fed before he'd left the apartment. Not that cold bottled cow's blood would compare to the flavor of fresh human blood, straight from the throat... and he'd best be leaving now.

This was why he was a loner. It was hard to be a vampire surrounded by people, especially since he'd decided not to eat the people anymore. The guilt left a nasty after taste.

Willow's house was dark, and held the sort of quiet that said anybody who'd been inside was gone now. He hadn't been invited back in after the whole Angelus and Hell disaster, so he was rather limited in what he could discover. There were faint traces of the scent of cow's blood in the air, and motorcycle tread marks on the driveway. If Willow was actually involved with either oddity, then that might explain the 'unWillowy things' that Buffy had claimed Willow was doing.

His next stop was Willie's, to have another drink, Killian's Red, the demonic variety, which was beer with some blood added. He listened for a while, hoping that even if he didn't know where Willow was just now, there might be some scrap of useful information. Arguments about football games. Outrage at the price of fish-eyes. Lots of worries about the camouflage men that were hunting vampires and demons. Something about an innocent looking redhead that had come in asking for blood and left a three hundred pound man on the floor after he tried to cop a feel. That pack of Fyarls had changed their path and seemed to be heading for Vegas instead of California.

As he was on his way back towards his apartment, he decided to cut through a park instead of following all the streets. What he hadn't realized was that the park wasn't deserted, despite the hour. There were two people there, fighting. Fists were blocked and spinning kicks were dodged. One of them was a vampire with almost white-blond hair, and at first he thought of Spike, but it wasn't his errant childe.

Moving closer, Angel wondered why the vampire was taking so long. Was he toying with his prey? Should he try to rescue the woman?

"You're still telegraphing your moves too much." The vampire reached out, catching the woman's ankle. "All someone would need to do is figure where you'll be and they could stop you, just like this."

Releasing her ankle, the vampire stepped in, and the pair kissed. Arms held each other close, and it didn't look as if either one intended to stop any time soon.

Well, this was not what he'd first thought.

There was something about the woman. Something about her red hair that looked very familiar... "Willow?"

"Damn it, not another interruption." The blond vampire who was not Spike growled.

"Angel." Willow sounded frustrated, and turned in the vampire's arms, now facing Angel but leaning against her vampire. "Angel, this is David, David, that's Angel. I've told you some about him."

There was a pause, during which David nodded, murmuring, "He was the one involved with Buffy."

"Buffy seemed to think there was something odd going on?" Angel left the words as a question, feeling quite convinced now that something 'odd' was indeed going on, and that Willow definitely wasn't pining for Oz.

"She's not too smart, is she?" David chuckled, his hand caressing Willow's cheek.

Willow sighed, and closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm not pining or sulking or trying to make her suffer for ignoring me before. This isn't about her. I'm not getting back together with Oz. Everyone seems to know that except Buffy."

"Oz seemed to be... ummm." Angel didn't know if Willow knew about Oz and his interest in Faith. Would it cause problems if he brought it up?

"Oz and Faith. I know, I've talked with both of them, and I hope things go well." Willow had a little smile. "I've got David now."

Angel nodded, still a bit uncertain just what was going on. "You do know that David's"

"Yes, I know." Willow interrupted, and then shook her head. "Trust me, I know all about what David is. He's also teaching me how to defend myself if I ever get into trouble."

"Sunnydale has never been a very safe place, that's probably a good idea." Angel agreed, wondering why Buffy or Giles hadn't thought of doing that years ago. If Buffy was going to have people helping her, wouldn't it make sense for those people to know how to fight? Frowning as something occurred to him, Angel asked, "Willow, have you been going to Willie's?"

"I have, and I haven't been hurt. We've both been being reasonably good." Willow's arms folded across her chest and she was almost glaring back at him. Her eyes flickered, momentarily going paler.

The realization of what David must have done to her hit him like a fist to the stomach. She still had a heartbeat, still blushed, but her eyes had looked almost yellow. He must have started changing her. It was a slower, more risky way than the one that he'd always used, making someone half vampire and letting them change themselves the rest of the way when they gave in to the blood-hunger. It was a sign that whatever David's intentions were, they were serious. Nobody changed someone into a half vampire if they were only bored and playing around.

That would explain the rest of the 'unWillowy things' that Buffy had noticed. Could Slayers sense half vampires? Could half vampires detect Slayers? "Maybe you'll have to come over sometime and talk. Both of you."

"We'll remember the invitation." David's voice was calm, giving no indication about the chances of him actually visiting.

Willow looked at him, and she had a small smile. "Angel, David makes me happy. I haven't felt happy in a long time, and I don't want to give that up."

"Happy... That's good." Angel felt a stirring of jealousy. Willow was happy with David. She could be happy without any problems. And he... probably couldn't.

"Angel? You could probably... well, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to be happy. You're still all soulful, right?" Willow's words were verging on one of her babbles.

He didn't know where she was going with this, but he nodded. "Soul intact."

"Well, not that I want any details, but... Wouldn't yay, I'm not in Hell be a lot bigger cause for happiness than having sex with someone?" Willow was blushing as she raised the question.

For a moment Angel just gaped at her. It was a very good question, and one that he'd never thought about. He could remember the elation that he'd felt when he'd realized that he was free, that he wasn't in that horrible place anymore, even if he hadn't been thinking clearly yet. He'd just been feeling, and everything had been... good. "That makes a lot of sense, but I think I'd still best be careful before I do anything irreversible."

"I think it's time for us to be heading home." David's voice was soft, and he was holding Willow's hand in his, smiling at her.

Angel nodded a farewell to them, absently waving in response to Willow. His soul was still with him after the wild elation of being free again. How could sex, even really good sex, compare to that? Did that mean his soul was permanent?

Slowly, he started to smile. Things were looking up all around. Willow was as safe as anyone ever was in Sunnydale. His soul was probably secure, he could be happy. Things were definitely looking up.

End Eyes 11: Through the Eyes of A Brooding Vampire.


	12. Eying the Situation

Author: Lucinda

content will be similar to BTVS s3.

Main characters: Willow, Faith - mention of Willow/Oz, Faith/Oz and Willow/David

Twelfth in 'Through the Eyes...'

Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters or concepts from the series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' or the movie 'Lost Boys'. No profit is being made.

Distribution: Anyone who has permission for the previous 'Through the Eyes', otherwise please ask first.

Note: This has diverged after Lover's Walk, and is still in season 3.

Faith tapped on the door, wondering how long it would take before Willow answered. Ordinarily, she wouldn't be awake and smirking at this hour, but the circumstances today were different. Though Giles had been trying to convince her to get a GED...

The door opened, revealing Willow with fuzzy light blue socks and a matching sweater paired with comfortable looking jeans. "Faith? What... huh?"

"I thought I'd come over and hang out a while," Faith replied.

"School?" Willow murmured, stepping away from the door. "Breakfast..."

Faith followed, passing through the living room to a neat kitchen, where Willow spread cream cheese over a freshly toasted bagel. She also had a mug of what could only be blood sitting on the counter. Faith tried not to shudder, "That can't be kosher."

"No. I gave up, figuring it would be better to relax the kosher and worry more about not biting people because I got hungry," Willow settled at the table, and frowned at Faith. "Not that there's anything really wrong with it, but why are you here?"

"School's canceled for the day due to... Damn, I don't know what excuse they'll come up with. Last night's slaying resulted in some messes at the school, the power line's down, the pool's got demon guts all over in it, the gym's been slimed, and we broke a couple doors, windows, and put some cracks in walls."

"Wow." Willow sipped at her mug of blood. "I guess that would do it. Was it corrosive slime, or just gross?"

"B said it itched, and she hoped it didn't leave a rash, I didn't have any more trouble than the fact that it didn't want to wash of later," Faith shrugged. "So, can I hang out here for a while? Oz went to practice with his band."

"So, I'm your second choice?" Willow commented, taking a bite of the bagel.

Shrugging, Faith looked around the kitchen. "Do you have any coffee?"

"Maybe. It would be over the microwave if we do, though I can't swear how old it would be," Willow pointed towards the cupboard in question. "Mugs would be in the one beside it."

Soon, Faith had found the coffee, coffee-maker, and mugs, and had started the brewing. Glancing at Willow, she asked, "So what do the parents think about your guy moving in? I mean, even if they don't know about the vampire aspect, I can't believe they'd be cool with you just moving in an older boyfriend."

"They don't know. They've been home maybe three days since he's been in Sunnydale, and those days weren't consecutive. I think they're in Miami right now, some conference about alternate marriage and relationship choices and the effect that they have on the development and socialization of the children."

"Damn. How can they study raising kids when they don't even raise their own?" Faith asked.

"I think I was an accident," Willow mused. "And then they figured that having a child of their own would raise their credibility, so they kept me. I went to the daycare center that had the most psychologically stable sounding recommendations, and had loads of lectures about good behavior and the many perils of acting out. Ii was when I met Buffy and got tangled up in Hellmouthy weirdness, they started going away more often."

"Cause or coincidence?" Faith stuck a mug under the coffee maker, letting it just go straight into the cup instead of the pot.

"I don't know. That was sophomore year, so maybe they figured that fifteen was old enough to be responsible, or maybe it was some sort of hellmouthy send them away before they notice something effect. It's not like they were paying that much attention anyhow. I mean, they did but they didn't." Willow sipped at her blood, wondering if the Hellmouth was partially to blame for her parents.

"Slow that down and run it past me again?" Faith's brow was wrinkled and she shook her head. "That didn't make much sense at all."

"Okay, you know how sometimes, when guys look at you, they don't see Faith, they see a girl in sexy clothes? They see you, but they don't see you," Willow tried to explain. "Or sometimes, you look and you see a guy in a letterjacket and you register an athlete, but you don't really see him?"

"Yeah, all the time. It works great on patrols, they see helpless little girl and then I can kill them," Faith agreed. "But they're your parents."

Willow nodded, pulling down another mug and setting it on the counter. "And they see someone who gets good grades, stays out of trouble, and can collect the mail and forward phone calls while they're gone. Someone who needs guidance and directions without actually looking close enough to see that I'm not a statistic, I'm not an example of a group, I'm Willow. I don't like the Backstreet Boys, I don't enjoy the Leonardo DiCaprio movies, I never cared for Madonna, and I couldn't stand CareBears. They were just too demandingly happy all the time, and what about the people who are sad and don't get some freaky little talking bear showing up to fix everything?"

Faith laughed, leaning against the refrigerator. "There's a lot of problems that can't be fixed by smiling and thinking happy thoughts. So, the parents are no help; is that why you're so close to Giles?"

"Yup. Someone has to be the concerned adult in my life. And with everything going weird this year… My friendships aren't what they were last year. Things with Buffy haven't been the same since Angel lost his soul, and things with Xander got weird when I tried to give Angel his soul back… and things with Oz… that got broken when Spike kidnapped me and Xander."

"Do you wish things were different?" Faith whispered.

"All the time. If I hadn't been kidnapped, if I had studied harder for that test, if Jesse hadn't died, if… If I'd never found out that Buffy was the Slayer, life would be much simpler, or maybe I'd be dead. If Jesse hadn't been killed, would he be there for me now, or would he be off chasing a cheerleader trying to get a date? If Angel hadn't lost his soul, would Buffy still be hanging out with me? If Angelus hadn't killed Jenny, would she and Giles be dating? Engaged?" Willow shook her head, and then drained her cup of blood. "Everyone wonders about what-if's. But that won't change what is. I wish that I hadn't hurt Oz, but I'm happy with David. I wish that Jesse hadn't died, but… Well, there really isn't an upside to that. I'm glad that I was friends with Buffy, even I that seems to be fading. I'm glad for the chance to get to know you better now."

Faith switched the coffee pot for her cup, and took a sip, wincing at the heat. "I know that I have a few if only's myself. If only Penny hadn't died. If only my dad had stuck around. If a few other things that didn't happen. Sometimes life just sucks."

"I know. So, umm… other than Oz and slaying, how's life?" Willow wanted to talk about something other than past misfortunes and regrets. Almost anything else would be an improvement.

"I've been staying in this piece of crap hotel room near the docks, I haven't got much more than the clothes on my back and a few weapons I lifted on patrol, and I'm getting real sick of peanut butter sandwiches and instant noodle soup," Faith grumbled.

Willow's jaw dropped. "But… I mean, the Handbook said that a Watcher's supposed to take care of their Slayer, make sure they have a good place to stay, food to eat, an adequate supply of weapons and a training facility, and stuff. You know, take care of the material aspects so that the Slayer can go out and slay?"

"That handbook is outdated and stupid," Faith scowled, blowing over the top of the coffee before taking another drink. "Buffy got Giles, and he's pretty cool; but I've got Wesley, and I don't think he's even asked where I'm staying."

"That isn't right at all. I mean, we've got to do something about that, you can't keep living that way. What happens when you don't have the right weapon, or can't identify a demon in time, or it gets too cold and you don't have a good enough jacket, or… well, anything. No bandages, or antibiotics or painkillers." Willow bit at her lip, trying to think of a solution.

"And the alternative is…?" Faith asked, arms crossing over her chest.

"I know Mrs. Summers has a spare bedroom, but you and Buffy would probably land each other in the hospital. The apartments in the complex Giles lives at have two bedrooms, but he's probably got the second room full of books and weapons," Willow began, thinking out loud.

"Wes is right out, because if he hasn't thought to check by now, I don't want to depend on him," Faith insisted. "I could maybe try talking to Oz. I don't think the two of us could afford an apartment, but… maybe if we talk to his parents?"

Willow frowned, considering the patch of sunlight type feeling that Faith caused. "How strong or irritating or whatever is the way that you're sensing David? If the two of you think that you could deal with being in the same house without fighting… Part of the attic is open, we could set up a bedroom for you there, and there'd be room for a little practice. It wouldn't be the world's greatest accommodations, but wouldn't it be safer than the docks and some scary hotel room there? At least here you'd know that things have been laundered this month."

Faith just stood there, blinking for a few moments. "You'd let me stay? That's… I mean, that's a nice offer."

"If things work out for you to stay with Oz, I know that you'd probably like that better," Willow admitted, "but you're a friend, and I don't want you in danger if I can help. David will understand if I have a friend staying over, and I'm sure he can cope with the Slayer thing if you can cope with the vampire thing."

"I'll have to think about it, and maybe you and David should talk some about the idea of a Slayer moving in with you two. But thanks for the offer," Faith smirked. "I mean it."

"All right, you talk to Oz about the chances of moving in with him, and I'll talk to David later, when he's awake. We'll figure out what happens next after that," Willow agreed. "And Faith? If you move in, you can help with the laundry and the house-keeping."

"Fair enough," Faith chuckled.

End Eyes12: Eying the Situation.


	13. Eye for the Problems

author: Lucinda

rated y-14, may contain violence, moderate heterosexual activity, and strong language.

part thirteen of the 'Through the Eyes' series.

Contains Willow/David, Faith/Oz, Buffy/Angel, and mentions of past tense Willow/Oz and Xander/Cordelia

Disclaimer: David and the idea of half-vampires are from the movie 'Lost Boys', which I hold no rights to, and I'm not certain who does own. Willow and anyone else from Sunnydale, as well as the Hellmouth and Slayers belong to Joss Whedon & his writers.

Distribution: with the previous parts.

Notes: set in season 3 BtVS, AU post "Lovers' Walk".

previous parts can be found or or http://lucinda.magical-worlds.us/viewstory.php?sid383

Faith rubbed at her shoulder, walking down the street towards her hotel. Tonight's slaying had been wild, and that last vampire had pulled a few martial arts moves of the sort that weren't supposed to work outside of funky dubbed Chinese action flicks. She still wasn't quite certain how he'd managed to launch her into the sign for that bar.

She did remember grabbing his ankle and yanking him onto the pile of broken crates. She remembered seeing the box shatter against his chest, the wood ripping into his skin, the way he'd screamed before his body had fallen into ashes.

Vampire ashes burned worse that salt in open scrapes. Thanks to several fights, a few walls, and that pile of crates, she had a lot of scrapes and bruises.

This had not been a good day for her. She'd had 'training' with Wesley earlier, where he'd sneered in his stuffy British way about her form, called her sloppy and disorganized, and muttered that it was a miracle she wasn't dead yet. Granted, Faith didn't think he'd intended her to hear that comment, but damn, it had stung. Then he'd complained about the way she didn't listen to him, comparing her to Miss Summers, the perfect Slayer who danced attention on Giles and his every word... Though that didn't seem to match the B that Faith had been watching. Maybe he just hadn't noticed the headphones and wire?

By the time that had finally been over with, she'd gone to hang with Oz. But Thursday meant practice with his band, and that meant Devon running his mouth about his various girlfriends, one night stands, and hot dates, as well as Devon's lame efforts to flirt with her when he didn't think Oz would hear him. Oz wasn't sure if Devon meant it or not, but he'd been finding it pretty aggravating, and Faith was getting annoyed herself. It made her regret the fact that a Slayer wasn't supposed to beat up over-sexed musicians. More frustrating Oz didn't have room for her to move in with him, or the funds to get an apartment. Not if they wanted anything that was an actual step up from where she was now, at least.

Sometimes Faith hated her life. Parts of it, at least.

Unlocking her hotel room, Faith let her stake and large knife fall onto the table, and shoved the chair under the doorknob before locking and dead-bolting the door. It was a pretty cheap door, something she'd be able to knock down with no trouble at all, but it would keep a human out. Or at least, it would make enough noise to let her know if someone tried to get in.

Faith took a quick shower, hoping that she could get clean before the hot water ran out, though the water here was never really hot. After swallowing a couple aspirin and a glass of water, Faith dabbed herself dry with the towel. The water was definitely not softened, and left a hint of sulfur in the air and on her skin. Of course, it also left orange stains around the drain, something that she felt almost better that she couldn't blame on her Slaying.

Hearing the sounds from the room to the left, Faith sighed. Molly had company again, noisy, demanding company. Of course, that did seem to be the way that Molly paid her rent. Hearing a loud 'oh yes! Oh Harder!' Faith shuddered. Maybe she could start knocking the vamps down and grabbing their wallets? She could hear the sound of leather on flesh and a startled yelp, before a deep voice demanded 'spank me, baby, spank me hard! I've been a bad, bad boy!'

Glaring at the wall, Faith grumbled, "At least the perverts are gettin' some. Me? No, I get beat up by vamps, and then I have to come back here, alone. Life just isn't fair. And they can't even keep it down to let people sleep."

Faith pulled on some clothing, and tucked a stake and her knife under the flat pillow. Not exactly comfortable, but she felt safer with a couple weapons nearby. Especially with sounds like that next door. As she tried to get some rest, Faith thought that about the only way things could be worse would be if she had to earn a living like Molly.

She could have sworn that she couldn't have gone to sleep. Blinking away the memory of a badly played guitar and rapid drums, she coughed at the stench of smoke. Waving her hand through the air, Faith grumbled "What the hell are they doing over there now?"

That was when the sprinkler system went off, sending little sprays of water towards the walls and down in the middle of the room in most of a circle. Yelping, Faith found herself sitting up, glaring at the sprinkler, stake in one hand and knife in the other.

"It's a fire. Can't slay a fire, got to calm down…" Faith shook her head, taking a deep breath before coughing at the smoke. It was nasty smoke that clung to the back of her throat, stinking like burning fabric and old curtains.

Faith put the weapons down, and grabbed her duffel, shoving her clothing inside. The two books on demons went in as well, and then her dirty clothing from last night and the larger knife. Grabbing her jacket, she tucked the stake and her small knife out of sight, and tossed the chair away from the door. Sirens wailed as she grabbed at the locks, and the smoke was making her eyes water.

Staggering outside, Faith blinked at the approaching fire-truck. Flames roared to the side, and she could see more people staggering out of the hotel. Some of them were dressed, many were in some kind of pyjamas, and there were more than a couple that were completely naked.

While the firefighters tried to contain the blaze, Faith staked four vampires that thought the people watching the fire would be easy pickings. Only one managed any sort of decent fight, but that one got in a solid hit on her eyes that was sure to leave a bruise.

Staring at the smoke rising from the remains of the hotel, Faith sighed. The room that she'd been staying in still had four walls, though parts of the roof had collapsed, and the windows had shattered. All that and the sun hadn't even made it up yet. "I guess things could get worse than last night… earlier tonight."

"You okay?" Molly's voice sounded different when she wasn't shouting on the other side of a wall. "What happened to your eye?"

Faith almost touched the bruise at the mention, but stopped her hand in time. "Don't worry about that. I'll be fine. I got my clothes, I got out without breathing too much of that smoke…"

"Did you loose anything important?" Molly's words were soft.

"Not here," Faith shook her head. "My other shoes. A couple romance novels. No big."

"Those novels? In the end, they have lots of great sex, and go off to live happily ever after in a big mansion." Molly had a thin smile, "Entirely unlike what happens in real life."

That called a smile from Faith, and she chuckled, "Yeah. I'll be okay though. There's a friend of mine… sort of friend. I'm gonna go crash on her couch for a while."

"You do that. I'm going to go find me one of those firemen," Molly purred.

Faith wasn't certain how she found Willow's house. The entire distance from the now-burned hotel was a blur in her mind. She dropped her bag under the coffee table, kicked off the shoes, and collapsed on the couch.

End part 1.

"Why is there a Slayer on the couch?"

Faith's eyes snapped open as she heard a male voice drawl those words. Her senses were screaming that there was danger, a vampire, be careful, grab a weapon… Looking around, she spotted him leaning in the doorway, with bleach blond hair and a shirt with a faded album cover from the Doors. A vampire, in Willow's house? "Are you David?"

"And you must be Faith," he smiled, though without fangs. "Why are you on Willow's couch?"

"Right…" Faith took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. She didn't want to get into a fight with Red's vampire boyfriend. "There was a problem with my hotel."

He frowned, took a step closer, and sniffed. "Smoke? What, someone burned it to the ground?"

"Close enough," Faith admitted.

"Damn," he shook his head. "You can't stay on the couch forever. Willow and I had a talk about you, but this isn't what either one of us had in mind."

"Do I make your nerves twitch like you're doing to mine?" Faith asked, slowly lowering the knife.

"It's not as strong when you're asleep as it is now," he replied, still on the other side of the room. "I'll make you a deal. I won't bite you, you won't stake me, and we don't fight in Willow's house. I don't think we need to fight elsewhere. I'm not turning anybody, not out to end the world or bag a Slayer…"

"Except for turning Willow, and how are you feeding?" Faith spoke before she could stop herself.

"Willow needs someone, and I was there for her," the words were a low growl. "As for feeding, it's been mostly bags from that miserable bar, except for a few bastards who attacked me first."

Faith frowned as she considered his words. Willow… yeah, Willow could make her own choices, and as long as she wasn't unhappy or killing people, that was her right. And if people were jumping the vampire… "I learned a long time ago that there were nasty people out there. It wasn't until later that I learned they weren't all human."

"Now there are a few less," David smiled again, this time with teeth.

Faith just nodded. She managed to relax her muscles a little, enough that she was no longer ready to jump up and attack or run in a heartbeat.

"If her parents show up, you'll need to be out of sight. Would you rather be in the basement, or up in the attic?" David asked, his eyes resting on her duffel.

"It doesn't matter," Faith replied, a yawn interrupting her words. "Anything's an improvement on that dump."

"I don't think either one of us will want this to be long term," he cautioned. "But there's no reason you can't stay for a while."

Faith relaxed, finally letting go of the knife. "Thanks. And that goes for you too, Red. I can feel you over there."

"You're welcome. Do you want fruit to go with your waffles?" Willow called.

"Got strawberries? Or maybe peaches," Faith asked, turning halfway around to glance at the kitchen.

"Both, though they'll need sliced," Willow commented as she poured batter into the waffle iron. "I called Oz earlier, when I saw you conked out on the couch, he was pretty worried. The fire was on the news earlier, and apparently not everybody made it out."

"Damn," Faith winced. "Do they know how it started?"

"The current theory was that somebody was smoking, and fell asleep with a cigarette and that started the fire. I think that'll probably stay the official version."

"There were a couple vamps lurking by the time the fire truck got there," Faith offered. "I know down south there were a few packs that used to do things like that once in a while; torch a hotel and grab some of the people when they stumbled out in the dark. I don't know if these guys started it or just thought it'd be a free meal."

"You traveled before ending up here?" David's voice was low, more curious than anything else.

"Yeah," Faith whispered, trying to push away some of the memories of why she'd started traveling. "I traveled along the coast and west along the border. Some things really are bigger in Texas."

"Huh," David grinned, "Nice to hear. I haven't been that way since the thirties."

"Waffles. David, do you want one?" Willow called.

"Nah," he slipped past Faith and into the kitchen, pausing to give Willow a quick kiss. He opened the refrigerator, grabbing a box of strawberries and a brown paper bag. "I'll just steal a bite of yours."

Faith sighed as he opened the bag, pulling out what looked an awful lot like Red Cross bags. "Do I want to ask?"

"There's a bar that sells more than just beer," Willow waved one hand towards he wall before pouring more batter into the waffle iron. "We haven't asked how he gets it, but we've been buying blood from him."

"Good ol' Willie's, they've also got a dartboard and a pool table," Faith sighed, reaching around David to grab the strawberries. "I guess it makes sense, since he does get a few people in there that I'm sure aren't quite human."

"What do you do about it, Slayer?" David was looking at her, and he picked up the one strawberry that he'd removed from the box, teeth biting into the fruit as he watched her.

"Shoot a little pool, bum a few cigarettes, and listen up for the latest rumors about dangerous stuff moving through," Faith shrugged. "Most of them are pretty harmless, and the rest haven't tried anything when I've been there. Other than this guy who tried to cheat at pool. And that's hardly something to Slay about."

David chuckled, and Willow grinned. "Well, one guy tried to cop a feel on me, but… I sort of… umm… dropped him to the ground holding his shoulder and making vowel sounds."

"That's why you're learning how to fight. To be prepared for the next guy who tries to grab you." David gave Willow a look, and sighed, "You do know that you're the only person who could talk me into living with a Slayer, even if it is only temporary."

"And I'm only agreeing to this because… well, partly for Red, and partly because I'm out of options," Faith took the plate of waffles with a smile, "Thanks, Red."

David chuckled, and took a drink from hi mug, which did not have coffee. "Tell me that the wolf isn't moving in too?"

Willow snickered, though her smile had faded a little. "No, Oz isn't invited to move in. But he will probably be visiting a lot more often."

"Because…?" There was a growl to David's voice as he left the question hanging in the air.

"Stop being jealous, it's unnecessary." Willow pointed at him. "Oz won't be here to visit me. He's started seeing Faith, and if Faith's here, Oz will still want to see her, so he'll have to be here."

"Oh," David looked at his mug, and took another sip. "Sorry."

Faith giggled, and tried to smother her laughter. It wasn't a good idea to laugh at strong vampires, especially when she didn't have a stake, but the expression on his face… "This isn't the sort of problem I'd expected. But I'd rather have to deal with overprotective boyfriends of the ex of the… Damn, this sounds like it should be on Jerry Springer. I'm living with my boyfriend's ex-girlfriend…"

"And her current boyfriend," David added, grinning over his mug at her.

"And my current boyfriend," Willow agreed. "But we aren't going on Jerry Springer with this, or anything else like that. It would be much too weird."

"I guess the only other problem that I have is a shortage of clothing," Faith said, stabbing the last bite of her waffle with a fork. "And I'm still hungry."

"Have another waffle, we can go shopping later," Willow grinned. "Both of those problems are easily solved. If only all our problems could be solved that easily…"

"That would be nice," Faith agreed.

"But things aren't that simple," David grumbled. "And once you graduate, we're out of this hellhole."

"Hellmouth, not hellhole," Willow countered.

"Close enough. As soon as you're done with school, we get out of here. It just doesn't feel right," David shook his head.

"You feel it?" Faith asked, curious about how the Hellmouth felt to a vampire. She'd always felt it as something sort of like the feeling you got just after the top of a hill on a roller coaster, like the ground had just fallen away and taken your stomach with it.

"Yeah, like a hot fog smothering the area," David frowned, his eyes unfocusing and going pale golden. "And it makes me hungrier than I was before I got into town. Hungrier and grumpier. The only reason I'm still here is for Willow."

Faith shivered, reminded yet again of the danger of vampires. "Nobody's really happy about this place."

"Maybe Oz and the Dingoes could go to LA, and try for a record contract," Willow offered. "I'm sure you'd want to go with him, and there's bound to be things needing Slayed there as well, and I know Buffy's already started working on enrolling at UC Sunnydale…"

"Let's hope so," Faith whispered. "Because that could work out for all of us."

End part 2.

End Eye for the Problems.


	14. Eye on the Shops

author: Lucinda

rated y-14, may contain violence, moderate heterosexual activity, and strong language.

part fourteen of the 'Through the Eyes' series.

Contains Willow/David, Faith/Oz, Buffy/Angel, and mentions of past tense Willow/Oz and Xander/Cordelia

Disclaimer: David and the idea of half-vampires are from the movie 'Lost Boys', which I hold no rights to, and I'm not certain who does own. Willow and anyone else from Sunnydale, as well as the Hellmouth and Slayers belong to Joss Whedon & his writers.

Distribution: with the previous parts.

Notes: set in season 3 BtVS, AU post "Lovers' Walk".

tte..tte..tte..

"Are you sure about this, Red?" Faith asked again, stepping out of the big blue car that Willow's parents had left in Sunnydale.

Willow glanced over at the darker Slayer, hoping that her teeth weren't going sharp. "Dad left the car here instead of long term parking so I could get around if I need to, and your lack of wardrobe needs fixed. Hence our driving to the mall. If you feel like you need to do something for this, you can help me pick out a few new things for me. As for the cost, don't worry about it."

"I like leather, and that's not cheap. You're already letting me stay with you," Faith closed the car door, and sighed. "I don't want to be too much trouble."

"When we met Kendra, the Slayer Called before you, she mentioned the Slayer Handbook, which Buffy has never read. Said handbook states that the Council is supposed to support the Slayer, providing protection, nourishment, and all necessary equipment."

"Hell of a job they've done so far with that," Faith spat.

"That's why I hacked their bank records. They don't know it, but they're paying for this shopping trip, and the new bank account I set up for you, and a couple new weapons that should be delivered some time next week."

"Didn't think that was legal," Faith gave a little grin, and teased, "Are we corrupting you?"

"What, you think I've had a computer for all these years and done nothing more than typed up school reports and some bad fanfics? In cyberspace, nobody can see you blush and stammer, and it's a lot harder for them to find out where you live," Willow shook her head. "It helps a lot to be able to see what sort of messed up bodies the Coroner's found lately."

"And the Council's bank records?" Faith leaned against the car, looking at Willow.

"Their bank's pretty good, so I figured that it might be easier to hack into the Council and see what I could find there. If you have the right codes and account numbers, it's really easy to get money from a bank account," Willow glanced around and then whispered, "And they should be utterly ashamed of themselves for some of the things that I found."

"Sloppy records? Bad love poetry?" Faith shook her head, "You're talking about the Watchers here, of whom Giles is the most relaxed and sexy that I've seen."

"Faith, my dear dark Slayer," Willow shook her head, grinning. "Haven't you heard? The internet's for porn."

"the hell?!?" Faith blinked, her jaw dropping.

"I was shocked at what I found in their system. Porn. Porn with demons. Porn with multiple demons. And if they ever so much as try to make noises about a few things getting routed to where they're supposed to be going in the first place, they'll have to explain that porn to their bosses," Willow closed the door to the car, shrugging her purse over her shoulder. "Shall we shop?"

"You found demon porn in the Watcher's computer system?" Faith was shaking her head, eyes still far wider than normal. "Wait a minute..."

"Hmmm?" Willow's expression looked far too innocent.

Faith frowned at the redhead before asking, "Was that porn there when you broke in?"

"Well..." Willow twisted a lock of hair around her finger, before giving a little shrug. "Some of it was already there."

"B told me you were the quiet one! The one who could hardly talk to guys!" Faith exclaimed.

"That's face to face, not online," Willow shrugged. "Now, maybe we can get this shopping over with instead of talking about porn?"

They ignored the glaring bottle blonds who watched them buy shoes and purses. Willow and Faith did giggle a bit at the discovery that they had the same shoe size, though they agreed that it was probably the only size that matched for them.

Another store yielded a vast assortment of leather for Faith, as well as a jacket that Willow smiled over and a pair of pants that Faith talked her into purchasing, though Willow backed away from a black leather bodice as if she'd been burned, muttering about evil twins.

As they moved on to another store, they missed the baffled looks of Cordelia Chase, watching the most unlikely shopping duo that she'd ever beheld, one that she suspected might be a rare and unprophesied sign of an impending near apocalypse. Either that or someone had put a little something extra in that mocha...

end Eye on the Shops.


	15. Through the Eyes of an Angry Friend

author: Lucinda

rated y-14, may contain violence, moderate heterosexual activity, and strong language.

part fifteen of the 'Through the Eyes' series.

Contains Willow/David, Faith/Oz, Buffy/Angel, and mentions of past tense Willow/Oz and Xander/Cordelia

Disclaimer: David and the idea of half-vampires are from the movie 'Lost Boys', which I hold no rights to, and I'm not certain who does own. Willow and anyone else from Sunnydale, as well as the Hellmouth and Slayers belong to Joss Whedon & his writers.

Distribution: with the previous parts.

Notes: set in season 3 BtVS, AU post "Lovers' Walk".

tte..tte..tte..

Willow shook her head as she followed Faith into the library. "It's Saturday morning, there's no mention of evil prophecies coming about right now, no weird, unidentified demons running about... why are we showing up at the school? Why did I agree to be here with you anyhow?"

"Because I held your coffee hostage until you agreed?" Faith gave a small shrug, and then grinned at Willow, "I was hoping that you'd either keep me from flipping out and killing Wes off or that if we killed him together, you'd help me hide the body."

For a moment, Willow pondered those options and Faith's explanation. Maybe she should have had a second cup of coffee before they'd left... Wrinkling her nose a little, Willow glanced at Faith before mumbling, "Was there a preference between those choices?"

"Not really," Faith paused, and then glanced down at herself, "On second thought, I'm in a new, white shirt. Blood might not come out, and it would be a shame to ruin it already."

Willow nodded, "And killing without the blood just isn't very satisfying."

"I guess your boy David's rubbing off on you, isn't he?" Faith teased.

With a giggle, she tried to give the Slayer a stern look, mock growling, "Now Faith, it's really none of your business what David and I get up to behind closed doors. If we wanted you to know, we'd leave the doors open."

Faith's jaw dropped, and she blinked a few moments before admitting, "Okay, that was a good one. Seriously, is that… his influence, or are you just feeling confident enough to say things now?"

"Ummm," Willow nibbled at her lip, considering the question. Part of her wanted to ask why it mattered, and another part was certain that she should pay attention to possible changes in her personality. While she didn't want to be alone and was so very glad that she had David, she also didn't want to find herself and Faith on opposite sides in a fight to the death. "Maybe yes? I'm not sure. I'm not sure how much is his influence and how much is that he isn't trying to keep me stuffed in a little box marked acceptable for Willow. I'm allowed to try new things, and to try a little violence of my own, as long as I'm careful and don't get in over my head."

"Which is why he goes with you on a patrol," Faith stated more than asked.

"Pretty much," Willow admitted. "We normally get in a few lessons, and some nice time out together."

"The couple who slays together… not really what I thought of as Romance before I came to this town," Faith shrugged, looking at the library doors. "Morning training. Bleahhh."

"Sometimes you have to make do with what's available," Willow shrugged. "Moonlight walks are supposed to be romantic, and there are generally flowers in the cemeteries, so we have moonlight and flowers. That's a couple things on the checklist. And this being Sunnydale, how do you avoid the demons and vampires… other vampires?"

"I guess you can't," Faith sighed.

"Good morning, Faith. Are you ready for some training?" Wesley sounded far too awake for the hour.

Faith made a noise that could have been agreement… or quite a few other things.

Willow glanced around the library, not seeing Buffy with her bright clothing and patch of sunshine sensation, or Xander with his Twinkies, or even Giles. "There isn't anyone else here yet?"

"Miss Rosenberg, I didn't expect to see you here this morning," Wesley looked at her, his expression betraying surprise. "Perhaps you could check to see if there were any suspicious bodies examined by the coroner recently?"

"I can do that," Willow murmured, wondering just why Wesley was so surprised. Did he just not expect her to arrive with Faith, or was he not expecting anybody else at all? Had he been planning to get Faith here all alone, and if so, why? If she hadn't seen the way the younger Watcher kept making moony eyes at Cordelia, she'd have to wonder if Oz would need to get jealous and if she'd need to get protective of her friend.

It didn't take that long for the computer to boot up, and soon Willow was perusing the Coroner's records. Depressing reading, now that she was looking at it… the sight of a blond girl with her throat torn out made her frown, remembering when Buffy had suffered through that Crucimeanie mess that Giles had been ordered to do… some sort of Slayer test. Ordered by Quentin Travers, the Head of the Council when Buffy had turned eighteen. She knew that she was getting the name wrong, not that it mattered too much. What was a bigger question was when was Faith's birthday, how old would she be, and had Travers given Wesley a similar order? After all, she had no doubts that Wesley'd do his best to give Faith drugs that would leave her weakened. Just following orders…

She compiled her list of bodies. The ones that might rise, and the ones that suggested demon identification research. She also made a point of trying to get into the records to find out where the demon killed bodies had been found. Location could narrow things a little more, especially when combined with the types of wounds. Ohh, some sort of muscle locking toxin, that should help with the research… and eww, with the mauled body and missing parts.

While she looked over the recent bodies that had been brought to the coroner's office, Willow also listened to Faith's training. Wesley was running her through some sort of staff drill, one of many where the idea was to ingrain certain moves and responses into the muscles so that they became near instinct. … and all she heard was complaints about what Faith was doing wrong. The angle was too shallow. The end of the staff was too high. She was leaving her left poorly guarded.

The more Wesley sniped at Faith, the angrier Willow felt. She shifted the angle of the monitor slightly, enough that she could watch the reflection of what Faith and Wesley were doing. Maybe she was getting the wrong idea from not seeing them… Maybe Wesley was trying to show her a better way… Maybe he wasn't just trying to make Faith feel bad.

Except that seeing things didn't help. There was no offering instruction on a stance that would better protect her left. No showing the better angle to counter that attack. No help at all. Just harsh, disapproving words.

Willow felt herself growling, could feel her teeth growing sharper. Her throat felt dry and parched, her newer instincts hissing for Wesley's blood… though those instincts were pretty sure Faith's would taste strong and spicy. Her hands clenched until she could feel her nails digging into the palms. Don't kill Wesley in the library… don't kill Wesley in the library… The bloodstains would be bad for the books. Bad for the computer. Giles would be disappointed. It was too sunny to be able to leave the school if she drank him, and she doubted that she'd be able to resist drinking if she tore him into shreds like she wanted.

"I don't know how you expect to survive as a Slayer if this is the best that you can manage," Wesley gave a derisive sniff.

"That is it," Willow hissed, her words too low for the Watcher to hear. She moved away from the computer, a tiny portion of her mind noting that her nails looked much longer and sharper than normal. Moving towards Wesley, she reminded herself _not to bite_ and tried to dredge up every smidgen of information that David had given her on how to bend minds.

Her growl got just a little louder as she stalked up behind him.

With a noise that was halfway between a squeak and a shout he spun around, his staff moving towards her head.

Willow wasn't entirely certain in what order things happened, but his staff was broken and still rolling across the library floor, she had one hand wrapped around his throat, nails digging in just a little, and his body slammed up against one of the shelves. His eyes were wide and terrified, and she had the tiniest thought that if her hand wasn't in the way – and she liked having her hand – she would have ripped his throat open.

She tried to drag up the proper state of focus to pull the mind control trick, and instead of a careful mental push, she _shoved_ at Wesley's mind.

His eyes rolled backwards and he passed out.

Willow dropped him to the floor, backing away and fighting down the urge to pick him back up, to rip his throat open, to drink… To kill him. It would be so easy… She could make that cold, British heart stop its frantic twitching, make it go still and silent.

Itchy sunshine behind her… dangerous… Slayer!

Willow twisted around, one hand rising into a guard position.

"It's me, Red, no biting required," Faith stood there, the staff resting against the floor, her other hand held up and open.

Lowering her hand, Willow gave a small nod, her teeth clenched together. No biting, Faith was her friend, and Wesley wasn't worth loosing the sunshine… wasn't worth killing…

She didn't know how long they stood there, staring at each other as Willow fought to calm her emotions, to push back the vampire instincts. She could smell Wesley's blood, and looked at her hand, seeing that her nails were tipped in red… in blood. Without any conscious decision at all, her hand lifted to her mouth, and Willow licked the trace of red from the first nail.

"I wouldn't think he'd taste that good," Faith offered.

"Hmmm," Willow considered the taste as she licked off the second nail. "Much fresher than the bags from Willie's." Licking the third nail clean, she sighed, "yet still somehow not that tasty."

The short bark of laughter from Faith might have been more to release the tension than from any amusement. "We got any reason to stay here?"

"Nope." Willow walked towards the printer, determined not to look at Wesley again. She wasn't certain if she'd keep her control over her temper if she did. Picking up the printout of note worthy bodies, she closed the browser window and shut the computer down. "No reason at all. I've got the list of bodies, and if we go now, I think we can pick up milkshakes and be back home before the Jackie Chan movie marathon starts on channel thirty-five."

"Is he going to remember any of this?" Faith paused at the library doors to glance back at Wesley.

"He shouldn't, if I did that right," Willow considered her efforts. "I hope I got it right."

"There's something wrong when I prefer sparring with a vampire to lessons with the Watcher. I learn more from David, and there aren't as many insults," Faith sighed. "The whole situation is fucked up, you know?"

"I know. But we still aren't going on Jerry Springer."

"I'm not doing this anymore. I'm done trying for him," Faith's shoulders had hunched forward. "I won't be the only one who tries to make things work, and I get sick of being compared to someone else."

"Fair enough. But it's much too sunny for now to be a good time for me to kill him… I'm trying to avoid that sort of thing," Willow glanced at Faith, pulling the sunglasses out of her jacket pocket. "I don't think you're second rate."

"So I got you, I got your vamp, and I got Oz," Faith shook her head, thumbs looped through the belt loops of her pants. "That's still better than standing alone, right?"

"Right."

Neither of them looked back.

End Eyes 15: Through the Eyes of an Angry Friend.


	16. Through the Eyes of a Worried Watcher

Rupert Giles had arrived at the Summers house at a quarter past ten, intending to pick Buffy up for some morning training. They would also be able to do a bit of research if there were any pressing issues, which might go better during the early part of the day, when their minds were fresh. It had been a good, simple plan.

Naturally, it fell apart the moment he stepped through the door.

He'd spent close to an hour fielding questions from Joyce about Buffy's training and just what he expected her to be facing and capable of facing. He found himself confronted with stained blouses and ruined shoes, courtesy of his Slayer's habit of wearing her good clothing on patrol. Her excuse was that the demons and vampires wouldn't be as quick to attack someone who looked prepared for trouble, but just pounced on what looked like a wandering clueless teenage girl out alone after dark. Joyce had a few pointed questions about several near-death encounters Buffy had mentioned.

The whole ordeal left him more understanding of the possible reasons for wanting a Slayer to be apart from any relatives. No relatives meant no worried, over-protective mothers. Not a noble motivation, but one that he believed to be quite real. It made him quite pleased that a few of the more archaic traditions had been discarded as part of the reforms instituted by the formidable Queen Victoria, who had been quite aware of the Council and of Slayers. As it had turned out, one of her royal nursemaids had been a Potential that had never been Called. Her Majesty's interest had resulted in several improvements to the lot of Potentials and Slayers. Unsurprisingly, many of the Council felt that 'that woman had meddled where she had no understanding and no right' - a belief that completely ignored the fact that as Queen, she had every right to seek to ensure that the Council lived up to their claims of being proper Gentlemen. Within the security of his mind, he damned Quentin Travers for attempting to revive some of those traditions. There had been good reason to discontinue the Crucimentium, even if it had taken a direct order from Her Majesty to accomplish what basic decency and honor had called for from them.

After all the questions and delays, it was half past twelve by the time he and Buffy walked into the library. He expected the quiet, and the bright sunlight through the repaired skylight. Books were neatly shelved, the chairs against the tables, and the computer that they frequently had Willow or occasionally Oz check for information was turned off with a dark screen.

Neither of them expected to see Wesley Wyndam-Pryce slumped against one of the book cases, unmoving. Or the broken staff that had fallen in the middle of the training area.

"Oh dear," he murmured, moving quickly to check on the younger Watcher.

Buffy was close behind, asking "Is he dead? What happened? This is the library; it's supposed to be quiet and pretty safe. Especially on a Saturday morning."

His throat was encircled by red marks that were starting to bruise, and there were small marks at the sides, four on one side, one on the other. After a moment, he concluded that someone or something had attempted to crush his throat in a one handed grip, leaving him collapsed on the floor. He couldn't tell if the younger Watcher had been intended to die or merely left as inconsequential. Though it didn't look as if anything had been taken...

"He's not dead," he told Buffy. If we can wake him up, he might be able to tell us what happened."

"Some baddie came in, choked him, and left. What's there to ask about?" Buffy blinked at him.

"What sort of baddie, why they choked him, what they wanted in the library to begin with... Shall I continue?" He looked at her.

Buffy blushed, mumbling, "Yeah, it might be good to know those."

He asked Buffy do a quick inspection of the library to see if anything had been stolen while he attempted to revive Wesley. Eventually, the younger Watcher groaned, one hand feebly swatting at him.

"Do wake up, Wyndam-Pryce. This is a library, not a bed and breakfast," he snapped.

Opening his eyes, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce made a small noise of protest at the light, very slowly sitting up as one hand hovered near his throat. He blinked at the room, his expression full of pained confusion.

"Nothing seems to be missing. So what happened in here?" Buffy walked towards them, apparently having checked on the weapons locked in the back.

"I..." the younger Watcher paused, his voice raspy. "I don't recall. I don't recall anything from this morning after my morning tea."

"Maybe a morning training meeting with Faith? Do you think Faith might know anything?" Buffy asked, looking to Giles.

With not the first shred of recognition, Wesley asked, "Faith?"

"Yeah, you know, Faith the other Slayer? With dark hair, about as tall as your nose... Is this ringing any bells for you?" Buffy snarked.

"No, should it?" Wesley glared right back, before wincing and touching his throat.

He didn't think Wesley Wyndam-Pryce was capable enough of an actor to fake that confusion. Which meant that the Watcher had no memory at all of his Slayer. Something that was supposed to be impossible, or at least very difficult. Something that could only mean trouble.

"Oh bloody hell."

end part 1.

"Buffy, begin making some telephone calls. See if anyone knows where Faith is, or what might have happened here – it is an unlikely thought, but should not be ignored. Perhaps Willow may be able to find something with one of those infernal machines," Rupert paused, craving a good cup of tea with a splash of whiskey. "There is a good chance that Xander may be with Cordelia."

"Right," Buffy began walking towards the office, the broken pieces of the staff in her hand.

"I remember Xander and Cordelia. Should I know who Willow is?" Wesley rasped.

The staff pieces clattered to the floor and Buffy made a noise that contained questions and outrage, but no actual coherent words.

"You should know who Willow and Faith are," he addressed the younger Watcher. "The fact that you… do you remember anything about either young woman?"

"If they were people I've met since arriving in this town, then no. Not a single thing," there was a pause, and he frowned before going pale and clutching at his temple with a whimper. "owwww. I don't even remember how I arrived here today… though I do remember that this is the High School library."

"At least everything hasn't been taken from you," Rupert sighed. "Why don't you take the infernal machine and see if you can find anything about memory suppression. Buffy, those calls won't make themselves. I will begin searching the books."

"Perhaps if you could tell me a bit about what I've forgotten, it may be of assistance?" Wesley Wyndam-Pryce suggested.

"Faith is the second Slayer. She was in Boston when she was Called, and you were sent here to be her Watcher. You've been in Sunnydale…"

"For several months, yes. But the only dark haired young woman that I have any substantial amount of memories concerning is one Miss Cordelia Chase, who is not a Slayer," Wesley interrupted. "And I have no memories of anyone named Willow in Sunnydale."

His mind starting to search through anything that might selectively remove the memories of two specific individuals, Rupert moved to his office, pulling out a stack of photographs. As he shuffled through seeking pictures containing Faith or Willow, he paused. Just because they knew that the man's memories of this morning and those two had vanished didn't mean that was all that had happened. It would be foolish to miss an important clue from using too narrow a focus.

Selecting a few photographs, he looked at the younger Watcher. "It is obvious that something had tampered with your memory, though we can't be certain how extensive the damage is just yet. Think back, at least since your arrival in Sunnydale. Look for any other discrepancies, any large blank sections, missing time, or memories that seem not to match. Also, these photographs show Willow and Faith."

Pulling the photographs closer, the younger Watcher studied them. "And Buffy said that Faith has dark hair?"

"Oz is off at practice and everything was peachy with a side of keen yesterday. Xander and Cordelia are at the beach and Xander didn't have anything out of the ordinary. I left a message at Willow's house," Buffy shook her head. "What's the benefit if he can't remember a Slayer?"

"If he can't remember her, he can't protect her," Rupert offered. Powerful enough magic could alter memories, though to precisely target memories of specific individuals suggested a level of finesse and power that was disturbing. He hadn't seen any sign of drugs or toxins, and rather doubted that something so precise could have been accomplished within one morning anyhow - it would require a level or resources and expertise that were considerably beyond most demons or vampires. The fact that it had occurred during the day also strongly suggested that it hadn't been a vampire. "Though most demons powerful enough to tamper with his memory like that would have either taken something or left him with more injuries than just the bruising to his throat…"

"Like Wesley'd be much protection to Faith anyhow," Buffy muttered.

"Now Buffy," he chided.

"Wait…" Buffy had stopped, her expression filled with worry. "Do you think those camouflage guys might… Would they go after a Slayer? Could they mess with his memories like that?"

"A very disturbing possibility," Rupert admitted. While it was plausible, and he didn't trust those mysterious figures, he almost wished that Buffy hadn't mentioned such an idea. "They certainly have a considerable amount of resources at their disposal, and we have no idea about their base, their goals, or their larger scale methodology. There may be such methods used to help them acquire information about their targets."

"Yikes. I'll call Willow's house again. If she's there, or comes back to the house, she can give us a call that she's not been kidnapped, and maybe she could do a bit of the research…" Buffy retreated to his office again.

Today was not shaping up to be a good day.

End part 2.

End Through the Eyes of a Worried Watcher.


	17. Eyes to the Screen

Willow and Faith had indeed got their milkshakes and made it back to the Rosenberg home before the Jackie Chan movie marathon started. Faith had her butter-pecan shake, and Willow had collected a strawberry shake for David and a chocolate mocha shake for herself. Faith plopped onto the recliner, flipping channels until she found channel thirty five, having passed two news programs, an interview with a former football player, three car commercials, a cholesterol medication commercial, one for Pepsi, one for 'hungry? why wait, have a Snickers', an upcoming movie with car chases and explosions, and a show about women in very short skirts having affairs with their bosses. Willow closed the curtains before moving to settle on the couch.

"What's with the noise?"

"Did we wake you up, fang?" Faith glanced at David, seeing that he was rather rumpled, in jeans and a Doors shirt, with bare toes.

Leaning against the doorway, David gave her a sleepy look that might have been a glare had he been more alert. "Yes. Yes you did wake me up."

Willow beamed at him, "There's a Jackie Chan marathon starting in about ten minutes. I got you a milkshake if you want to join us."

Faith snickered, "What is this, Red? Come to the Dark Side, we have milkshakes?"

"Willow, luring someone to the Dark Side? Get with the program, Slayer. I'm luring her to the Dark Side with blood and my sexy body," David grinned before asking, "What flavor?"

Faith's whisper of 'Boot to the head' wasn't quite soft enough for them to miss, though they did pretend.

"Strawberry."

"Milkshakes and Jackie Chan movies sounds pretty good. Give me a moment and I'll grab some blood," David ducked towards the kitchen, muttering "Damn sunshine. Someone needs to invent a stronger sun-block. Much stronger. Maybe SPF three hundred or so..."

"Blood?" Faith wrinkled her nose, "As long as that's for you two and it comes in packages not bodies..."

David emerged from the kitchen, holding a pair of Styrofoam containers that were too tall to call bowls and too fat to call cups.

"It's for us, bought it at the butcher's, and it comes from cattle. The sort that has four hooves, eats grass, and doesn't go 'moo'. I don't know how to spell that noise, but it isn't 'moo', and they aren't that harmless," David grumbled, settling the containers on the coffee table in front of the couch before settling beside Willow.

Willow picked up one of the containers and took a rather long swallow. At the same time, she seemed to be trying to not look at her fingernails.

David leaned closer, whispering, "Red, what did you do?"

"What makes you think something happened?" Faith asked.

"We've been trying to keep her from getting too hungry, from either of us getting too hungry. Considering that I know she had some blood last night, for her to be drinking that fast... either there's a bet between the pair of you that nobody's mentioned or something happened," David explained.

"Faith held my coffee hostage until I agreed to go with her for her training this morning. Wesley... he's... I wanted to kill him. For what he was saying, how he wasn't teaching." Willow's finger was circling around the edge of the container, and she wasn't looking at either of them. "I was so close..."

"She had him in a choke hold against the shelves and everything," Faith added. "I'm pretty sure that I'm supposed to disapprove. 'Cept she was trying to defend me. I'm not used to that happening. And there may have been a bit of confusion of how to tear out a throat while your hand is wrapped around it..."

Willow twitched, and took another swallow of the blood. "I didn't... but then I... I may have... ummm..."

In a completely unconvincing bland tone, Faith droned, "You aren't supposed to eat the Watcher. Bad not quite vampire. Shame, shame."

David rubbed his hand over Willow's back, suggesting, "Grabbing the front of the shirt works better than a choke-hold if you're going to tear out someone's throat."

"I pushed at his mind. It wasn't carefully and with precision using the least amount of force," Willow admitted.

"Did you break him?" David asked, sipping at the strawberry milkshake.

"He passed out, and we left before he woke up. If he's going to wake up. I should probably care," Willow sighed. "Does it mean that I'm turning into a bad person that I don't feel very bad at the idea that I might have broken or at least dented his mind?"

"We left before we could find out the full effect," Faith paused, and sipped her milkshake. "Dunno if we care much either. The only way he's up to par as a Watcher is the old books and languages. He fails at taking care of his Slayer, fails at teaching me to fight, fails at helping plan patrols and attacks... And he keeps doing his best to make me feel like I'm a failure."

"I thought Watchers wanted their Slayers to live?" David took a small sip from his container of blood.

"That's how it's supposed to work. So far, you an' Red have been vastly more help than Wes." Faith sighed, and muttered, "If that isn't the most backwards sounding thing… the Watcher makes me feel like a failure, and the vampire helps me out."

"Sunnydale doesn't seem too big on following the rules," Willow offered.

"Too many rules are boring," David smirked. "Things are more fun when you ignore the rules. Or break them into bits and burn the pieces."

"Careful with the fire, fang. Aren't you burnable?" Faith smirked back.

"No more snarks and smirks! Jackie Chan movies!" Willow insisted.

"What's first?" Faith looked at the television, sipping at her milkshake.

"If they follow their program guide, the first is a movie called Dragons Forever, then Crime Story, then Legend of the Drunken Master, then Mr. Nice Guy. But this station sometimes changes their mind as they go, so it could be some different movies, or maybe they'll shuffle the order a bit. They pull that trick a lot with the Bollywood movies…" Willow paused, looking at their confused expressions. "Indian movies? Silly plots, obviously choreographed action sequences and random song and dance routines mostly done in foreign languages that might be badly subtitled? Foreign films straight from India, best watched over curry?"

They were just blinking.

"I really need to take care of some of the gaps in your educations. First Faith didn't know about the real reason behind the spread of the internet, and now neither of you know about Bollywood…" Willow muttered to herself. "This is why people whine about education today."

"What about the internet?" David asked.

Faith just made a noise that she would later swear had not been a whimper, and covered her eyes.

Willow grinned, "Porn."

"Not ease of communication, exchange of scientific information, and faster banking?" David was tracing patterns on her arm.

"All useful stuff. And can I just say that computer banking is a wonderful thing?" Willow grinned. "But if you look on the internet, you'll find tons and tons of porn. Every kind of porn you can imagine. Porn for things that you had never considered porn-capable. Porn for things that will make your brain hurt and make you beg for brain-bleach. Rule thirty-four – if you can name it, there's porn of it. Even things that there should never be porn of, it's out there."

"Willow used her computer to get me some money from the Watchers. She also mentioned that they had some nasty demon-porn on their computers," Faith smirked, "She didn't say how long that demon-porn had been in the Watcher's system. Maybe it was a trade? Lots of money for some nasty porn?"

Willow shook her head, and gave an exaggeratedly snooty expression, "At least half of it was already there. And they owed you that money anyhow."

All three of them were laughing as the first movie started.

End Eyes 17: Eyes to the Screen.


	18. Panicked Eyes

..tte..tte..

The phone rang halfway through Crime Story. Willow glared at it, debating ignoring the phone in favor of watching Jackie Chan beat people up in fascinating and unusual ways. Except that if she didn't answer the darn thing, it would keep ringing.

Grabbing the phone, she didn't quite growl, "What?"

:Calm down, Wills! I'm just trying to make sure everybody's good... am I interrupting something?: Buffy's voice carried over the phone.

"Milkshakes and Jackie Chan movies. No hellmouthy interruptions allowed," Willow could feel herself frowning.

:Ohhh, snuggle time with your honey?: Buffy's voice took on a teasing note.

"Not as much as I'd like, we have company." Willow grumbled. Looking over at David and Faith she explained, "Buffy's on the phone, and I'm not sure why."

:This is important, Willow! Have you had any problems, any sort of demony problems or stalkers lately?: Buffy's voice had a more worried tone.

"Ummm..." Willow blinked, reminding herself that she didn't want to even try to explain the vampire boyfriend and becoming part vampire herself bit to Buffy. "Nobody's been stalking me except for David, and I haven't had any new problems. Oz said there were some weird smells around the Bronze, and Faith's motel burned down..."

:Oh my God! Is she... do you know if she made it out?: Buffy half shrieked over the phone.

Willow winced, unsure if her teeth had slipped into fangs. "She made it out. I don't know what started it, she mentioned seeing vampires while the fire fighters were still at work."

:But you don't know what started it? Can you check?: Buffy's voice was still unhappy and stressed, but softer.

"I can take a look and see if the report's in their system yet, but it might not be," Willow murmured.

:This is just awful... I need to tell Giles...:

Willow blinked as the connection ended. "Weird."

"You told B my motel burned down?" Faith looked at her, sipping at the last of her milkshake. The bits of pecan were rattling in the bottom of the cup.

"Yeah, and she really freaked out. I told her you made it out, and that you'd mentioned the vamps, but..." Willow shrugged. "She said she had to tell Giles right away."

"It made the news, wouldn't he already know?" Faith blinked.

"Did he know that's where you were staying? 'Cause there might be a difference between somewhere burned down and the somewhere a Slayer was living burned down. Unless they didn't know, in which case it's just a weird coincidence, but it sounded like Buffy thought they were looking for something specific, and..."

"Breathe, Willow!" David insisted.

"I doubt he knew, I hadn't exactly advertised," Faith admitted. "I don't think anyone else knew."

"So it was either an accident or an ugly coincidence," David offered.

"And if Giles thinks there's something up, we'll hear from them again. Until then, we have movies!" Willow waved towards the television.

"Likely," Faith agreed. "So, that bit right before the commercials... would that even work?"

"There's a lot of room for that sort of thing to go wrong," David murmured.

"But scenes like that are part of the appeal," Willow grinned.

end part 1.

During the next commercial break, Willow gathered up the empty Styrofoam, both from the milkshakes and the blood, to throw them into the trash. Willow was murmuring a bit about needing to work on the whole magic floaty thing, enough that she would be able to just point and have the trash throw itself away, but if she tried that now things would probably spill all over the floor, and make a terrible nasty mess – melted ice cream and blood, ugghhh…

While she was in the kitchen for that, Faith twisted in her chair to face David. "So, your bloodline has nasty mind control tricks?"

"We've got a few nifty tricks. I've been teaching Willow that one. She's off to a good start," David smiled. "And it's only nasty if you're trying. 'S good for short term illusions, maybe a little you-don't-see-me, a little nothing wrong here. Memories are harder, and that can go wrong easy."

"So she was trying something big," Faith glanced towards the kitchen.

"My girl's an over-achiever," David smirked.

Faith looked like she was going to argue, but stopped, shook her head, and pulled one knee up in front of her, leaning her chin on her knee. "I'm adding my vote for Red to stay sun-light friendly for a while. It's nice to have someone I can hang out with."

"A new thing for you? You don't strike me as the nobody around type," David countered.

"She's not trying to get me into trouble, not trying to get into my pants, and she wants me to be better at what I do. She believes that I can do better, make more of myself than a pretty girl in or out of tight clothes." Faith shook her head, "That's the part that's new."

"Hmmm." David leaned back on the couch, his feet going onto the table. "If I didn't have Willow, if you weren't a Slayer… I can see the appeal for getting you out of your clothes."

"What's me being a Slayer have to do with it?" Faith arched an eyebrow.

"Slayers can feel vampires, and vampires can feel Slayers. It isn't a feeling that I'd want in the person in bed with me," David shrugged. "You feel too much like sunshine."

"Sunshine? Me? I'm about the least sunshine-like person I know!" Faith blinked.

"Fast, powerful, lethal. Not really good for vampires." David shrugged, "Nice to look at, but not good to touch."

"I thought it was a kind of warm itchy feeling myself," Willow offered, stepping back into the room.

"Sounds like a personal problem," Faith grinned.

"Feeling of Slayer. My personal's all in good working order, thanks," Willow countered.

"Well, then if Slayers feel like sunshine to vampires, how'd B and her vamp ever…" Faith paused, "They did, right? He had his sway to the dark side because they got it on?"

David shuddered, "Not just any Slayer, but blondie? Gahhh…."

"He wasn't impressed," Willow translated, her thumb pointing at David.

"Seriously, how did they…?" Faith looked from Willow to David and back to Willow.

"I think Angel's a masochist," Willow offered. "He's made a few comments that make it sound like a lot of vamps are into the whole sado-masochism kind of thing, at least in his family."

"Do I want to know if you know…" Faith blinked.

David arched an eyebrow and looked at Willow.

Turning a brilliant red, Willow tried to hide her face behind a pillow, muttering, "I told you – the internet's for porn! I learned… I learned things that I never knew I didn't want to know until it was too late. What has been seen can not be unseen. There is no brain bleach. Internet capable computer and no adult supervision. Do I need to say anything else? Can we just drop that whole thing?"

"And you're supposed to be the quiet, shy good girl," Faith chuckled. "Did you really mean it about the demon-porn on the Watcher computers?"

"Demon-porn?" David blinked. "There's… on the internet? In the Watcher's computers? Whaaaa?"

"Yes, it's out there. A lot of it gets passed off as mythology-based, or inspired by some of those weird Japanese animated things with the naughty tentacles, but… you can tell what's photo-shopped or bad make-up and what isn't. And at least a third of that stuff was already on their computers before I'd ever even heard of Watchers." Willow folded her arms, and sighed. "I still want brain bleach."

"Considering some of the demons that I've seen,' Faith paused and shuddered. "I don't think I want to see."

"Really naughty tentacles?' David whispered. "I don't know if I'm intrigued or disturbed."

"Pick disturbed. There were… tentacles. Too many tentacles. It was really, really freaky, and the more you looked the worse it seems to get. Imagine Cthulu, Blue-thulu, and a pair of cheerleaders having theirselves an orgy, and you may come close to the levels of just not right." Willow shuddered, and repeated, "I really want brain bleach."

"Blue-thulu? You know what, I don't think I want to know after all," Faith made a face. "I'm starting to want brain bleach just from trying to figure out how that would work."

"Chaos demons? Polgara? Marraecholith?" emerged in a small voice from David.

"Extra slimy yep, yep, and eeew yep," Willow nodded. "I told you, whatever it is, there's porn of it."

"I will never doubt you on matters of awful things on the internet again," David promised, looking queasy.

Faith just nodded.

"Good. 'Cause next time I'll make you look at pictures," Willow threatened.

End part 2.

"So, why was B lookin' for me anyhow? If you had to tell her that the motel burned down, then she wasn't calling to see if I was still five by five. What did she want anyhow?" Faith leaned back in her chair.

"She didn't say," Willow paused, "But she did sound like Giles was right there, so… they were probably… at the library."

"The same library where you left the other one out cold on the floor?" David asked.

Willow nodded.

"Bet they found him?" Faith let one hand fall over her eyes. "And if he told them anything…"

"We're doomed," Willow whimpered.

David hugged Willow, "I'm here for you, and I won't let anyone take you away. They can't get you, I won't let them. Faith won't let them. You aren't helpless either."

Faith moved her hand and nodded, "Damn straight. We won't stand for anyone getting rid of you. Neither would Oz, even if Fang over there doesn't like my wolf."

"Wait," David frowned, "You said you pushed at his mind. He might not remember what happened."

"So we might not be doomed yet," Willow breathed.

"You have three, maybe four months 'till you graduate. Make plans to get out of this place as soon as," Faith paused. "Oz and the band are planning on heading to LA. I'm going there too."

"Sounds like a plan," David smirked. "The sooner we can leave this hellhole the better."

"Hellmouth, not hellhole," Willow muttered.

David shrugged, "I still want out as soon as we can manage. Probably have Angel leave too, unless he's an even bigger masochist than we thought."

"Let's not go back there," Faith warned.

"I can do computer work, a lot of it from home or wherever I want as long as I've got the internet. It's even something I should still be able to do when I'm not sunlight friendly," Willow offered.

"When?" Faith gave a suspicious look at David.

"Well, since it seems to be that the only ways not to wind up a full vampire sometime in the future involve me dying even more completely, or David getting killed but not me… I figure it's probably going to happen sometime. I'm in no hurry, but it'd be dumb not to have a few plans ready," Willow countered.

"Try to make it later rather than sooner," Faith demanded.

"My own mother isn't even that worried about my continued breathing and pulse," Willow blinked, and then sighed, "Which is pretty sad, really."

"She can jump into the ocean, you don't need her." Faith scowled at the television.

"Let's try to stay calm about why blondie was calling. We don't know that they know anything about your involvement," David suggested.

"And panicking always makes them wonder what you're hiding," Faith agreed.

"ohhhh," Willow moaned, "I suck at keeping secrets."

"Just leave them convinced your hiding a secret boyfriend, and they won't look further," Faith suggested.

Willow considered that for a few moments before admitting, "I don't have any better ideas."

Somehow the Jackie Chan movies weren't quite as relaxing after that.

End part 3.

End Eyes 18: Panicked Eyes.


End file.
